


Blood Brothers

by perchance30



Series: Blood Brothers [1]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Bromance, Commander Holt - Freeform, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff and Angst, Galra Keith (Voltron), Gen, Voltron Week 2016, klance, shallura - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-06
Updated: 2017-02-18
Packaged: 2018-07-29 15:23:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 30,354
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7689805
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/perchance30/pseuds/perchance30
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Keith was an orphan. Shiro was a legend. Before they formed the head and right arm of Voltron, they were family.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Year Three - The Starry Night

**Author's Note:**

> So it looks like Keith and Shiro knew each other before the whole crash-landing-Ninja!Keith bit, so I want to explore that. I actually planned out this story from beginning to end, but I don’t have the time to write the whole thing at the moment. So instead, I’m going to write little snippets here and there. Unfortunately, that means some tales might be out of order, but I hope to keep each story self-contained. So you can read one chapter and maybe not another and still enjoy. 
> 
> Here’s hoping!

The night was darker than most with a new moon painting a canvas of shadows and stars. Keith had a front row view, lying next to Shiro on the rooftop of the desert cabin, watching the universe spin above them. The surrounding desert was quiet, save for the occasional sound of wildlife, and so far from civilization, the lack of artificial light allowed for breathtaking views of the Milky Way. A comfortable silence enveloped the two as they simply watched the stars and basked in the alluring vastness of space.

“What do you think is out there?” Shiro asked, soft as if not to break the natural serenity.

“I don’t know…” Keith wondered, equally as low. “…I just hope if you find anyone, they’re friendly.”

Shiro laughed, easy and comforting, and it physically hurt when Keith thought of that inky black sky swallowing the only family he’d ever known. Or what Keith thought family must have felt like. He didn’t really remember his parents, and he wasn’t quite sure how Shiro felt about him, even though it’d been three years since they met in the simulator. 

Sighing, Shiro glanced over at him, a sad smile upon his face. “I’ll let you know.”

“Thanks,” Keith said, feeling the weight of Shiro’s stare but not having the strength to meet it. 

After a moment, Shiro redirected his gaze to the stars. “Y’know, even when I’m up there, flying to Kerberos, we’ll still be seeing the same stars.”

Keith hummed, though if he only admitted it to himself, that single thought made him feel a whole lot better. 

*^*^*

Keith had no idea why he was here. When Commander Iverson, one of the heads of the academy and a well-known officer in the Galaxy Garrison, called him out of the Stabilizers Can Save Your Life seminar, he thought he’d been caught for sneaking off the base two nights ago. He didn’t do anything rebellious; he just headed to the cabin in the middle of the desert. Shiro brought him there every so often, and they’d just look up at the stars and marvel at how vast the universe really was. 

He stayed up half the night, just lying under the blanket of stars and wondering how Shiro was doing. 

Keith had laughed at the time. Shiro probably wasn’t thinking of him, what with all his priorities and the whole flying-to-the-far-reaches-of-space thing. 

But then again, Keith wasn’t quite sure what to make of Commander Iverson shoving him into a room with people he recognized but didn’t know. It was a small chamber with a few desks and monitors, and he noticed the Holts – the mother and daughter – huddled about one screen, smiling and laughing. They were talking to Commander Holt and his son, Matt, who were on Shiro’s mission, Keith remembered. Before he could ask about Shiro, he heard, “Hey, Kiddo. Get over here.”

Keith’s head whipped about, and on a nearby monitor, Shiro’s smiling face greeted him. Keith wished he could have pretended to be cool and just walk over and sit down. Instead, he practically rushed the desk and almost tossed its chair to the side. 

“Shiro! Are you all right? What’s going on?”

Shiro pulled his trademarked _Keith_ face – the one where his eyes softened and a fond but sad smile tugged on his lips, like Keith had somehow missed his entire point. 

“You might have heard, but I’m on this mission to a moon of Pluto.”

“Really? I thought that was just a rumor.”

Shiro laughed, and the good-natured sound relaxed Keith. The young cadet collapsed into the seat, pulling his right knee to his chest and wrapping his arms about it. “So…everything went well with the lift-off? I watched on the closed-circuit feed, but they don’t give a lot of details.”

“Yep, we’re on course now and should be arriving at Kerberos –” Shiro glanced out of sight for a moment and then once more smiled at Keith. “ – in about three months, two weeks, five days, two hours, and thirty-seven minutes.”

“I’m glad you’re not counting.”

“You holding up all right, kiddo? You’re not spending all your time in the simulator, are you?”

Keith bristled. “Of course not.” He spent most of it on the training deck – or down at Shiro’s cabin. He only spent half of his week in the simulator, maybe even forty-six percent, but definitely not “all his time.” 

“Try not to get on the commander’s bad side while I’m up here, okay? I don’t want to spend these calls trying to keep you from getting expelled.”

“I don’t know why that’s your problem,” Keith muttered, resting his chin on his knee. “You’re not my guardian or anything.”

Ugh. Shiro made the _Keith_ face again. “Right. Cuz I just made a collect call from thousands of miles away to some random cadet. You study for that test in thermal dynamics?”

He might have skimmed the notes two nights ago. “It’s not for another three days.”

“But I won’t be there to quiz you, so make sure you keep on top of that.”

Great. Now Shiro was going to nag at him. “I always ace the tests, y’know.”

“If you study and take them seriously. The written tests are just as important as the simulator and physical trials.”

“I’ve got it.”

“Are you sure? Because there’s this study group that can help –”

“Shiro!”

“Keith!” 

The clock in the corner wound down to Shiro’s last five minutes, and Keith sighed. He really missed Shiro and wanted to speak with him more, but he wouldn’t be selfish to the only person who was never selfish to him. “You have less than five minutes before…y’know. You want to talk to someone else?”

Shiro blinked. “Keith, I told you I would call you from space.”

“Yeah, but the time’s reserved for the crew’s families.”

“Yeah, it is.”

“So…isn’t there anyone you want to talk to?”

“I already am, kid.”

Keith blinked, replaying Shiro’s words in his head. Sure, Shiro’s parents had died, too, in some way or another – they never really talked about it – but Shiro had friends in the garrison. And there was that girl who flirted with him relentlessly during maneuvers. Didn’t he want to speak to her or anyone else?

“Keith, you’re not this dense,” Shiro spouted with fond exasperation. 

Oh. _Oh._

Keith felt the heat rise in his cheeks, and he quickly glanced away, unable to meet the warmth he saw reflecting in Shiro’s eyes. 

“Don’t die from embarrassment, kid,” Shiro teased. “I need someone to pick me up in Houston nine months from now.”

Keith perked up, eyes sneaking toward the screen again. “You—You want me to meet you in Houston?”

“Yeah. Of course. You’re my family, Keith. I’ll want to see you the moment I get off the ship.”

Keith swallowed, unable to speak, unable to process anything except for the stinging tears that blurred his vision and threatened to fall. 

Shiro sighed and made that _Keith_ face one more time. “It’s okay, Keith. Really. I only have a few minutes left, but I’m going to call you again in a couple days. Iverson will come get you, so don’t go sneaking off the base again.”

Of course Shiro knew. “I just went down to the cabin.”

_To see the stars._

Now Shiro looked sheepish with his head ducked and eyes glistening. He eventually met Keith’s gaze again with a smile. “They look pretty spectacular up here, too.”

_The End_


	2. Year One - Sundays with Shiro

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Headcannon for this story:** Cadets enter the Galaxy Garrison Academy at thirteen or fourteen; senior cadets graduate at twenty-one/twenty-two. Keith is thirteen when he is admitted, and Shiro is eight years older and a senior cadet at twenty-one. 
> 
> **Story Timeline:** I’ll be marking the stories in terms of Keith’s years at the Academy with Year One being when he entered. Shiro is on the Kerberos mission during the last months of Keith’s third year and is captured during Keith’s fourth year. Year Five starts when Shiro crash lands on Earth and the Voltron team forms. Thanks!

The mess hall wasn’t packed at five A.M. on Sundays, and Keith liked it that way. He’d rather eat alone, next to the window, so he could watch the various Galaxy Garrison vehicles take off toward the moon base. Oh, he couldn’t wait until he hit his third year and could start making runs there routinely. 

Three years…why did the garrison wait so long to give cadets the good jobs?

So lost in thought, Keith didn’t hear someone approach until they spoke. “This seat taken?”

Keith glanced up – and froze in mid-bite of his bacon at the sight of Takashi Shirogane, the legendary cadet of the Galaxy Garrison. He offered a bright but tentative smile, like he wasn’t sure if Keith would reject his offer but still wanted to ask. He was dressed similarly to Keith in light gray garrison-issued sweat pants and a black work-out shirt, like he was heading to the training deck after breakfast. 

Yeah, sure, Keith had interrupted Shiro’s simulator trial almost a week ago, stowing away in the back of the ship until the stronger elements forced him into a chair and to be part of trial itself. Shiro had even gotten better marks thanks for Keith since he had to talk a first-year cadet through the fine art of stabilizing propulsion systems while piloting the craft through a “warzone.” 

But why was Shiro here, now, asking to have a seat at Keith’s table in a practically empty mess hall? Did he feel the need to thank Keith by giving him the gift of his presence?

Yeah, no.

“There are other tables,” Keith spat, biting off another piece of his bacon and turning his attention back toward the take-off sector of the base. 

“Clearly, but I like watching the ships lift off, y’know? And there’s the whole eating alone thing I’m not too fond of.”

“Then you probably should eat later when there’re more people.”

“That…would be another solution, yes, or I could just sit here for now.”

Keith sighed. So was this how Shiro rose in the cadet ranks? By nagging people until they gave in? Whatever. He shrugged without taking his eyes off the rather large cargo ship that fired its thrusters, creating a brilliant blue streak across the warming sky. 

Shiro rested both elbows on the table and swallowed a mouthful of scrambled eggs. The senior cadet let out a tiny hum of appreciation, but Keith could relate. The food at the garrison was _good._

"So Commander Iverson told me you're the most promising pilot in your class."

Great. Shiro was a talker, _and_ he spoke to Keith's superior officer. 

"Are you up early for training?"

"No. I dress in training gear for the hell of it."

Shiro stilled, but then took a long sip of his orange juice. "Well, aren't you just a ray of sunshine?"

"You chose to sit here, Senior Cadet Shirogane."

"Yes," Shiro laughed, "I did, and it's Shiro."

Whatever. They weren't friends. They weren't equals. “Strangers” was probably a better assessment of their relationship than even “acquaintances.” Keith couldn't care less what Takashi Shirogane went by. 

They fell into awkward silence as they ate and watched the ships take off for places nearby and off world. 

As Keith finished his last piece of toast, Shiro asked, "So what brings you to the garrison, Keith?"

There was just something about the excitement, the true exhilaration of getting behind the controls and opening the throttle and just soaring through the awesome oceans of space. Just him, the galaxy, his spaceship – he wasn't sure what he'd be searching for out there, but maybe with his garrison training, he would find it.

Of course, Keith would never say that aloud. "I like to fly."

"Fly? You're fourteen, right?"

Thirteen.

"Do you have any experience or just simulator practice?"

"Did you have any experience before you joined the garrison?" Keith all but accused.

Shiro smiled that easy grin. "I used to race speeders in the desert near my family's cabin."

That was pretty cool, in Keith’s opinion. 

"We'd tear toward the cliffs, hit off the propulsion systems, and just fall. Then we'd turn the thrusters back on right before we hit the bottom." He sat back suddenly, a sheepish smile tugging on his lips. "I should not have told you that."

"It mimics the old re-entry strategies used during the Apollo Age of Exploration," Keith marveled out loud, imaging the sensations and the absolute euphoria of such a daring act.

Shiro shared his excitement and rose. "Exactly. You hitting the training decks? I'll go with you."

Keith stood, too, but blinked as he grabbed his tray. "Why?"

"Why what?"

"What would you go with me? I'm not in your class."

Shiro shrugged. "It's more fun training with another person. Don't you think so?"

Keith thought Takashi Shirogane was a very peculiar cadet – that was for sure – but he was curious to see how his close quarter combat skills measured up to a senior cadet’s. 

Three hours later, he lay flat on his back, dazed, and mumbled up at Shiro’s laughing face, “I want a rematch.”

Shiro raised an eyebrow and then offered a hand. “Next week,” he promised. 

*^*^*

"Keith! Hey, kiddo!"

Keith stopped dead in the middle of the packed mess hall – Taco Tuesday tended to lure every officer and cadet in the facility – but no one had called to him before. He didn't care to know most of his classmates’ names, and he figured they felt the same way. So who would yell to him?

There, two tables over, Shiro sat in his gray and gold uniform of a senior cadet, waving for Keith to come over. Somehow, he managed not to look like a spaz, and it pissed Keith off. Anyone waving across a crowded mess hall should look like an idiot. Life just wasn’t fair. 

Shiro made room next to him. "Pull up a chair, kid!" 

To a crowded table with senior cadets? The group home taught Keith a lot about caste systems, and he refused to endure that insufferable torment again.

When he turned away and decided to eat out on the terrace, he ignored the confused and hurt expression that enveloped Shiro's face.

*^*^*

"How did I become the friend you're ashamed to be seen with?" Shiro asked the next Sunday when he sat down at Keith's table again.

Keith looked over from the ships to see that yes, Shiro was serious, before turning back to the window. "You sit here all on your own."

Shiro sighed and agreed, digging into his eggs without another word. He sulked with his shoulders slumped and countenance crestfallen. It was surreal, in Keith's sardonic opinion. Shiro was top of his class and routinely undertook missions to the moon. Not to mention, every time Keith saw Shiro, someone was always hanging off of him like he was their best friend – or girlfriend, if the new blonde every week was any indication. What did it matter if Keith wanted him to sit at his table?

And why did Keith care if Shiro looked dejected? 

But Shiro just looked like someone who could smile all the time, and it felt wrong for him not to. So despite his internal voice telling him not to give in, Keith sighed and picked up another strip of bacon. "You heading to the training deck after this?"

Shiro's eyes perked up. After all, Keith never asked him any questions. "Was planning to. You going to join me?"

"I think it's the other way around."

*^*^*

"You should have more protein for breakfast. It'll help with muscle growth."

"Shut up and eat your eggs."

"Is that any way to speak to a senior cadet?"

"Now you're pulling rank? For that, I'm taking your toast."

"If don't bulk up soon, you're never going to beat me on the training deck."

"You're twenty-one! You're the top cadet in your class!"

"That's no excuse for your continuous losing streak."

Keith debated throwing the rest of his syrup on Shiro, but he debated that every Sunday since he and Shiro started training together almost three months ago. He still wondered what the academy's top cadet wanted from him, but he began to relax in Shiro's presence and even look forward to Sunday mornings.

After all, Shiro was as good as his legend professed, but the stories of his awesomeness never said he was bad ass _and_ considerate, kind of like an older brother. He even ruffled Keith's hair every time he sat down, which both soothed and pissed Keith. It was an odd combination of feelings, but one thing persisted. 

He liked eating breakfast and then training with Shiro. 

That was, until Shiro asked, "So, kiddo, what're you doing for the holidays?"

Keith froze, halfway through buttering his newly acquired toast. Staying at the academy and getting time on the simulator seemed like the best idea. Maybe he could ask the commander if he could tag along with the supply mission to the moon base that week. 

But those were lame plans he couldn’t tell Shiro.

"Figured I'd just head home,” he finally said. “You?"

Something in Shiro's expression changed. What had been warm and inviting now looked a bit annoyed and downright sad.

"Keith, you don't have to lie to me."

Keith's stomach flashed cold. "W-What?"

Shiro glanced away for a brief moment before meeting the younger cadet’s gaze again "I know, okay? Commander Iverson told me about your situation after you stowed away during my simulator trial, and –"

"So that's what this is?" Hurt and anger and ugly emotions flamed in Keith's gut, and he willed away the tears that burned the corners of his eyes. "All this time, you've just been pitying me?"

"What? No! Of course not. I –”

"I don't need someone to look after me. I applied to the academy. I took the entrance exam and aced it. I was the top cadet in my class before I met you. I've never needed any help or anyone before, and I don’t need anyone now."

Shiro winced again, like Keith's verbal barb had physically stabbed him, but he relented. "Okay. All that's impressive, and maybe you don't need someone. But I was trying to –"

"— get extra points with Commander Iverson by hanging out with me?"

“Of course not. I just wanted to –"

" – make a fool of me? Do you laugh behind my back with the other senior cadets?”

"Kiddo, come on. Don't get so –"

"Sit somewhere else from now on!" Keith yelled and stormed off, thankful that the tears held off until he got back to his dorm room.

*^*^*

Keith changed his schedule to work out on the training deck on Saturday nights while he ran about the base on Sunday mornings. He avoided Shiro as best he could, and even though there were hundreds of cadets on the base, he inevitably ran into the senior cadet in the mess hall or at the simulators. They didn't speak anymore, and Shiro didn't even look his way. He smiled, though, and laughed with the other cadets in his class, but Keith thought the smiles looked faked and the laughter too low-pitched to be real.

He must have been imagining it. Shiro was a legend, a prodigy in the garrison, and Keith had been delusional to even entertain the thought that Shiro had ever wanted to spend time with him. He probably laughed with all those senior cadets about how he’d rolled over the most promising freshman, and they would eventually start mocking him in the hallways and during joint training modules between classes. 

Except…they didn’t. Nothing happened. No teasing. No snide comments. In fact, no one cared about him. Life went back to being that lonely existence he remembered from his time at the group home, and it became blaringly obvious how much he had begun to look forward to seeing Shiro on Sundays or even in the hallways. If the senior cadet ever saw him, he always stopped what he was doing to speak with Keith. 

When had Shiro begun to worm his way into Keith’s life, and when had Keith let him? He missed what it was like to have a friend, maybe even an older brother. 

To clear his head, Keith went for another lap about the base. He was such an idiot. 

The holidays came around sooner than Keith would have liked. At least the group home had some decorations and attempted to create something that mimicked merriment. The garrison had a grand party across the base, which Keith didn’t attend, and then cancelled classes for a month, so students with parents stationed on the moon base could spend the holidays with their families. 

Officers generally stuck around the base or got a furlough, but Keith stayed under the supervision of Commander Iverson – he refused to go back to the group home; there was no one there he cared to see or who cared to see him. He decided to revert back to his original schedule – 5 A.M. breakfast in the mess hall – when he saw Shiro sitting in what was his usual seat, watching the space crafts head off to various destinations on and off world. 

Wait. Shiro didn’t go home? 

Even worse, Keith could see Shiro’s face from where he stood, and the senior cadet looked absolutely depressed with his chin resting upon his propped up fist, watching as the cadets loaded in the crafts to head home. Shiro could do serious. He could do disappointed, proud, and enthusiastic, but he shouldn’t be able to depressed. It looked so wrong on his usual genial face. 

Keith chastised himself as he walked over. He trusted Shiro before, and he was humiliated because of it. He shouldn’t be willing to talk to Shiro, let alone initiate the conversation. Yet here he was, standing in front of their usual table with his bacon, toast, and two servings of pancakes because Shiro always stole one for himself.

“Senior Cadet Shirogane?”

Shiro jerked, startled, and glanced up at Keith, allowing the younger cadet to see his red-rimmed eyes. He immediately sat up and wiped away his unshed tears. “Cadet Kogane, I, uh, I didn’t know you would be here.”

“Why are you?”

Shiro sighed and graced Keith, who took his usual seat across the table, with a broken smile. “You’re not the only one without a home to spend the holidays.”

Keith felt nauseated. Shiro was an orphan, too? 

“I’m sorry about what happened before,” Shiro began, shifting with obvious discomfort. “It’s just…it’s lonely here, y’know? Without a family. Everyone else has someone who misses them and wants them home or who gets excited when they achieve the highest score in the simulator. But without that—it’s very isolated. I was hoping to spare you from that. But I guess…I was just forcing my feelings upon you, and that was wrong of me. I’m sorry.”

Keith’s chest _hurt._ Takashi Shirogane had no one, too, and for someone who seemed to enjoy life and his studies and everyone around him – Keith realized that was all a front, covering for a lonely person who wanted someone to share life with. A family. 

Keith hadn’t realized until this moment how much he wanted that, too. 

“You asked me what I was doing for the holidays,” Keith found himself saying, hope lightening his voice. “Was there something you had in mind, Shiro?”

That snagged Shiro’s attention. It was the first time Keith ever called him by his nickname, and his face softened with gentle affection. “My family had a cabin down in the desert. I’ve only been there a few times since I became a cadet, but there’s a desert willow right outside the front door we can decorate. I thought I could show you that maneuver on the speeder I told you about, and we can make grilled cheese on the stove.” His smile wavered, but he persisted, “Does that…sound okay to you?”

Keith had never wanted to hug anyone before, but now, he barely held back. It sounded amazing, like a real celebration of the season, not the poor intimation he remembered from the group home, and it was with Shiro, the legend of the Galaxy Garrison – and, Keith thought, maybe the closest thing he’d ever have to a brother. 

Instead of gushing, though, Keith simply sat back in his seat and fisted his hands to keep them from shaking. “Yeah, I think I’d really like that.”

Shiro seemed just as excited as Keith. “Me, too.” 

They celebrated the next three years the same way – with speeders, grilled cheese, and a decorated desert willow.

Together. 

_The End_


	3. Year Six - Jealousy and Other Useless Emotions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to do a story where Shiro needed Keith more than Keith needed Shiro...and this happened.

Shiro wasn’t jealous. He wasn’t because there wasn’t anything to be jealous about. He loved everyone in the Castle of Lions and enjoyed spending time with Pidge in the hanger, working on the Lions and swapping stories about Commander Holt and Matt. Friday was his “Cooking with Hunk” night, and he met Allura for “coffee and…” every morning, most of the time under the watchful eye of Coran. (Shiro had yet to fully understand that situation – or why Coran was so suspicious of his private time with the princess.)

Perhaps the biggest change was every morning before breakfast, Lance joined him and Keith for sparring practice. 

He loved it. Shiro cherished being a member of the Voltron Pride with Pidge’s courage, Lance’s enthusiasm, Hunk’s support, and Keith’s skill. But where he used to be the only one allowed to Keith’s soft smiles, the ones he only gave when completely relaxed in another’s company – in Shiro’s company – he now shared with the entire team. 

From a bench on the training deck, Shiro wiped the sweat from his flushed face and watched as Lance swung a familiar arm about Keith’s neck to draw him close. They looked like best friends or brothers, which was probably an accurate assessment. In fact, even in his mind, he revered Keith and Lance as the trouble twins – at each other’s throats one minute and then co-conspirators the next. 

More often than not, their antics ended with Shiro having to clean up the mess or forcing Coran to do it. (Okay, so maybe he had some idea what was going through Coran’s mind and wanted to punish him for it.)

Life as part of the Voltron Pride was everything Shiro had always wished for during his first eight years at the Galaxy Garrison. He was lonely. He was isolated. He craved bonds the only family could create, and then he met Keith. He became a father, an older brother, and a best friend all rolled into one, and Keith looked at him like the entire world revolved around him. And he reveled in it. He loved having a little brother—a sardonic, stubborn, pain-in-the-ass little brother—one he wouldn’t trade for the entire universe and one he loved with all his heart. 

Then they were separated with Shiro impressed into the Galra’s ranks as a gladiator, and he fought for no other reason than to get back to the little brother who was all alone again, this time in the middle of puberty. Keith had no other family (and really needed the “birds and the bees” talk, which in retrospect, Shiro should have given him before leaving for Kerberos), and Shiro feared what would happen to Keith without someone there to just…be there for him. He needed people around him – or at least Shiro – and now, he had the pride.

Lance’s laugh was loud and boisterous just before Keith elbowed him in the gut, and Shiro was tempted to chastise. Lance must have said something sarcastic, or at least mildly offensive, but instead of getting flustered and bitter like Keith used to, that gentle, private smile crossed his features. A part of Shiro ached at the sight. 

Keith no longer needed Shiro as much as he used to. 

And Shiro was grateful. Every parent wanted their child to thrive in life, and for Shiro, Keith bore concern. It took some time for Shiro to gain Keith’s trust, but that first Christmas – racing speeders through the desert and munching on grilled cheese under the stars – he’d finally earned it. But Keith hadn’t learned how to live. He hung out with Shiro’s friends, but he never made any of his own. He waited for Shiro after class and ate at his table in the mess hall. They trained together, and once Shiro graduated and became an officer, Keith took permanent residence on his couch. 

But no one else could ever capture Keith’s attention. 

Now Keith spoke broken Spanish with Lance, and they sometimes got into arguments that no one could follow, not even each other. He listened to Pidge’s rambling attentively and thoughtfully, and then he test-tasted Hunk’s creations. He interrupted Shiro’s breakfasts with Allura, even helping to calm Coran down, and…

Shiro loved his pride, but he didn’t want to lose the close relationship he had with his little brother. 

“Hey, Shiro.” 

Shiro blinked, then looked up, shocked to find Keith standing over him. When had he crossed the training deck?

“You okay? You look…sad.”

Shiro smiled and hoped it didn’t look like a pathetic excuse of his usual grin. “I’m fine, kiddo.” _Just missing you._

He heaved himself up to ruffle Keith’s sweaty mane and then met Lance’s concerned expression, reaching out to tassel his hair, too. “You two done sparring? Winner fights me.”

“I won,” Keith announced, chest rising proudly as he ignored Lance’s sputtering, “but we’re above a desert planet. I thought maybe we could take Red and Black down there.”

He was smiling that shit-eating grin he wore right before he formed Voltron’s sword.

He wasn’t…Keith couldn’t possibly be insinuating – Shiro felt his own smile brightening his face. “And race like we used to with speeders during holiday break?”

“I’m not going to lose to you again.”

“You have yet to win, buddy.”

Keith started toward the training deck’s door. “Fine. If I win, Friday night dinner has to be goo with those herbs we got on Balmera.”

Making sure Lance followed, Shiro shrugged and walked after Keith. “Fine.”

“Cooked by Hunk. I’m not test-tasting your terrible excuse for goo again.”

“It was edible.”

“To who?” Keith snorted. “Your lion? Cuz he’s robotic, and he didn’t even dare to eat what you made.”

Shiro stopped short, eyes raking over Keith’s retreating back, and when Keith noticed, he turned about, fierce concern enveloping his features again. “Shiro?”

The last year replayed in Shiro’s mind, and he realized – every Friday, Keith sat on a stool in the kitchen, waiting to try both Hunk and Shiro’s concoctions. When Shiro worked on the lions with Pidge, Keith handed them the tools to do so. And when he failed to be at the training at 5:00 A.M., Keith was in his room by 5:01 A.M., dragging him out of bed. 

Just like Shiro always made sure to lean against Keith when they sat close, just to feel the tangible proof of his brother’s presence. 

No, he hadn’t lost Keith at all – Keith and he had finally found the rest of their family. 

“Shiro?” Keith called again, taking a step forward, and this time, Shiro smiled a real grin. “I’m fine. Just ready to show your kitty just how a lion flies.”

This time, Keith would have actually won – his brother was growing up so fast – so Shiro had no choice but to command Black to pounce on Red and throw him down a cavass in order to win. After all, Allura said she would give the winner a kiss, and he was not allowing Keith to get that. 

(Okay, maybe Coran had a reason to be concerned.)

_The End_


	4. Year Four - Birthday Greetings from Kerberos

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m always late to the party. Written for Day One of Voltron Week: Space/Travel, the story takes place just before Episode One.

“I’m stating for the log that we’ll be retrieving the first of many samples on August 10th.”

“It’s the ninth.”

“No, Captain Shirogane. It is the tenth as of eight hours, twenty-five minutes, and third-two seconds ago.” 

“Oh, shit!” Shiro exasperated, head smacking into the back of the driver’s chair. “Damnit!”

In the passenger seat, Commander Holt didn’t even look up from his data pad. “You’re swearing, Shiro? I thought you were resolved not to curse even once on this trip.”

A resounding swear growled from Shiro when he slammed his forehead against the steering wheel. 

“Didn’t you say you were trying to set a good example for your brother since he was disciplined for swearing in the simulator three weeks in a row?”

“ _Yes._ ”

“So what has you wound tighter than a ball of yarn around a curious kitten?”

Shiro would have wondered again how Commander Holt came up with his crazy analogies if he wasn’t trying to slam his head against his wheel so hard, he’d pass out. “It’s August 10th.”

Commander Holt cocked his head to the side. “Yes, I do believe I said that earlier. Is there something in particular you don’t like about this day?”

“It’s Keith’s birthday,” he revealed, rubbing his hands down the front of his face. “It’s his seventeenth birthday, and I’m stuck in a rover on the moon of Kerberos, millions of miles away, and since I have my days screwed up, I scheduled the call for tomorrow!”

“Did you get him a present?”

“Did I get him – I’m on Kerberos. We left months ago. Of course I didn’t get him a present–”

Commander Holt glared up from his report. “Might I remind you that are you talking to your superior officer, Captain Shirogane?”

“— _sir_ …?” Shiro had the wherewithal to feel sheepish, and his body slumped in the seat. “How could I be so stupid? Keith is going to –”

“—get a video of you from the farthest reaches of the solar system,” Commander Holt interrupted, clasping Shiro on the shoulder. “We’ll record you wishing him a happy birthday on Kerberos, and I’m sure Matt can rig the rover’s communications system to send an email. And then you can give him his presents three months from now – a rock from Kerberos and you.”

That wasn’t the same as actually talking to Keith and wishing him the best of days, but it would be _something_ to remind his little brother that he loved him, missed him, and would never forget his birthday. 

Shiro let out a sigh of relief. “Thank you, sir.”

Commander Holt smiled as Matt bounced in front of the rover, having the time of his life on the surface of Kerberos. 

“You’re welcome, but first, let’s grab Matt and collect the ice samples. You never know, Shiro. You might even be able to tell your brother that you found the first evidence of extraterrestrial life on his birthday.”

_The End_


	5. Year Five - Soulmates

Every day, Team Voltron learned more about their robotic-but-alive lions. While Lance was the one who first made contact with his lion, it was Keith who began speaking to his first. Pidge mingled human and Altean technologies together in hers, much to Green’s delight, if her purring meant anything, and Hunk routinely learned new attacks with Yellow, protecting the pride and helping to assure its victory. 

But Shiro was the most in sync with his lion, taking Black out for twice daily rides, usually once in the morning before the team woke and once in the evening after dinner. 

Keith thought it was Shiro’s way of training with his lion, forming a stronger bond with Black, so Zarkon could never override the controls again. He didn’t realize it was necessary until he and Red missed a block against Haggar’s newest creation, and the monster slammed its “fist,” or what Keith assumed was a fist, directly into Voltron’s head.

They stumbled, even as Hunk and Lance tried their best to keep Voltron upright, but something was wrong. Like their back thrusters weren’t working – or Shiro wasn’t working them – Voltron fell backwards and slammed hard to the ground, practically landing on Black’s collar thanks to the leg thrusters. 

Keith immediately called out, “Shiro! You okay?”

Nothing. No response, not even the shallow breaths Keith heard from his brother when he relived an event from his imprisonment. 

“Shiro, we need to move!” Pidge’s desperate voice echoed in Keith’s helmet, and she threw up the shield. The monster with more arms than eyes stopped before them, wrapping his tentacles about Voltron’s wrists and legs. 

“Guys, I hope this thing doesn’t eat robotic lions!” Lance tried to tease, but his voice was tense, nervous. Without Shiro’s calming presence, they all experienced different levels of panic. 

“Shiro!” Keith called again, this time manually opening a video feed to Shiro’s lion. The chilling sight froze Keith’s blood. 

The force of the hit – the one he and Red failed to block – must have slammed Shiro’s head into his chair in an awkward fashion, dislodging his helmet. Blood trickled down the side of his forehead and cheek, a grisly contrast to his pale skin, and it even stained a few strands of his white locks. Unconscious with his mouth slightly open, Shiro jumbled with each jerk of Voltron like a lifeless doll, and anger, concern, and unadulterated fear overwhelmed Keith. 

With a wild yell, he slammed his bayard into position and tore through the monster’s vines. Unfortunately, without the monster’s support, Voltron slammed hard to the ground, and they couldn’t move Voltron’s torso to escape without Shiro. It also meant their back was wide open for the monster to strike, but the Castle of Lions flew into the atmosphere at the last possible moment, blasting cover fire for the team. 

“You must scatter and return to the ship immediately, Paladins,” Allura commanded. 

“But the monster—” Pidge countered, but Hunk shook his head—or so it sounded to Keith. 

“Shiro’s hurt. We can’t do anything until we get him and the Black Lion back online.”

Keith agreed. “If we break apart –”

“The Black Lion will return to its hanger,” Allura assured. “Now, quickly Paladins! Coran and I can’t hold the monster at bay much longer.”

Keith loathed to retreat in any battle, but this time, they had no choice. And just one more glance at his older brother’s lifeless body hardened his resolve. Shiro needed medical attention and quickly. Head wounds were always frightening, and Shiro had been hurt enough for one lifetime, in Keith’s expert opinion. So he made sure to flank the Black Lion as it made its way back to the Castle of Lions and only returned Red to her hanger after Black was safe inside. 

Keith tugged off his helmet the moment Red sat down and shot out of her mouth, racing through the large doors of Red’s hanger toward the Black Lion’s den. He heard Lance’s lithe steps, Hunk’s thundering stomps, and Pidge’s light taps sound behind him, and he held no doubts that the Princess and Coran would arrive shortly. For now, though, he simply needed to feel Shiro’s steady pulse thump against his fingers and hopefully wake his brother from his brief slumber. 

“Open up, Black!” he ordered, but Black remained stoic, sitting on its hunches, mouth and cockpit ruthlessly lifted out of his reach. “Black, come on!” he yelled again, screeching to a halt right under the lion’s chin. “Let us in!”

Lance sounded just over Keith’s shoulder. “I don’t think he likes us.”

“I don’t care if he likes us! Shiro needs our help! Heel, Black! Now!”

“You talk to _your_ lion with that mouth?” Pidge admonished, slamming her elbow into Keith’s gut. “You have to be nice to him.”

Keith would kiss Black and call him a “pretty kitty” if it would make the lion release Shiro.

“The Black Lion refuses to open his hatch,” Allura’s wondering voice sounded behind them. 

Lance heaved a heavy sigh. “I believe we already established that, but we appreciate the update, Princess.”

“Can you talk to it, Allura?” Hunk urged, and Allura took another step closer, her head tilted upward toward the magnificent beast. Her face tensed, pensive, as if speaking telepathically with the Black Lion, and Keith growled and spun. He jumped once, twice, and three times, but barely cleared the lion’s paw. 

“Hoping you’ll suddenly develop super powers?” Pidge interjected. 

“I have to do something!”

“We are, Keith,” Hunk assured, placing a comforting hand—though it didn’t feel like one—on Keith’s shoulder. 

“He…He refuses to give up its Paladin…” Allura murmured, stealing Keith’s frazzled attention. “… _again._ ”

“Again?” Keith echoed. “When did Black have to—”

Dread slid uncomfortably and heavy into Keith’s gut as he remembered the fight at Zarkon’s main base, and he immediately glanced up at the troubled lion. For the first time, Black didn’t seem so menacing. He seemed sad, scared even, perhaps as scared as Keith felt. Black wanted to protect Shiro, too, his paladin who had been harmed time and time again, the last time almost resulting in Shiro’s death on a desert planet after the team had been scattered about the universe thanks to Haggar. 

Keith could relate. 

Allura knelt before the Black Lion’s paw, rubbing a soothing hand upon its metal claws. “He says…He says he was forced to eject his Paladin once, and he won’t let anyone take his Paladin from him, even us.”

“Oh, come on, Black,” Lance groaned. “We’re other Paladins. We’re your pride’s bros. You can trust us.”

“Shiro trusts us,” Pidge insisted, pulling out her bayard. She lifted it shoot her grappling hook, and Keith shocked even himself by placing his hand upon it. But Hunk beat him to speaking. 

“And you trust Allura. Black, you’re tied to her life force. If you don’t trust us, trust her – and your pride. They chose us as their Paladins, and we’re a team. We only want to help Shiro, Black. Please…let us.”

Still nothing.

Keith’s hands shook. They needed to get up there. They needed to tend to Shiro. He needed just to watch the subtle rise and fall of his older brother’s chest – but Black needed that, too. 

They needed to prove that Black could trust them with his paladin, and Keith didn’t have the faintest idea how—until his left glowed red, just slightly. It reminded him of Shiro’s Galra hand – and of the promise they made the night after Sendak took over the ship.

Of course. It wasn’t about getting Black to trust them. It wasn’t about helping Shiro. To Black, it was about _not_ losing his paladin again. 

Keith clutched his hand in a tight fist, his left hand, and then released it. Slowly, he began unhooking his glove. “I get it now, Black. You want to protect Shiro, not just because he’s your paladin. After you were betrayed by Zarkon, you waited ten thousand years to find the other half of your soul. And you did in Shiro.” With his glove off, Keith lifted up his bare palm to show Black the pink but still rather new scar along the palm, the tangible, permanent proof of his connection to Shiro. “I know what that feels like because….” He couldn’t believe he was admitting this out loud, let alone to a huge robotic cat that could squish him. “…he’s the other half of my soul, too.”

He took his bayard in his opposite hand, and in a bright flash, his sword appeared. He sucked in a deep breath but never doubted his actions as he sliced open the vulnerable flesh of his palm again, much to the dismay of the team, and placed his bloody hand against Black’s once immaculate paw. 

The crimson slid across the shimmering silver surface, staining the once proud claws, and Keith glared up, waiting and hoping. 

“We only want what’s best for Shiro – all of us –and we know you’re the strongest of us, Black. But you can’t protect Shiro alone. Just like Red couldn’t protect me by herself when we were fighting Zarkon. We all have to save each other, and let us help you save Shiro now.” His fingers tightened about Black’s claws as he added, “Share him with us, so we all don’t lose him. _Please._ ” 

Keith refused to back down, eyes steeling upon Black and resolving not to relent until he allowed them to see Shiro. It felt like an eternity, though probably was only seconds, but Black’s eyes flashed a brilliant yellow. as the lion finally accepted the undeniable truth – Keith would pay for his brother’s life with his own if necessary, just like Black would. Neither of them would ever let Shiro go again. 

Black’s head sunk to the floor, and his ramp opened to allow Keith entrance. The Red Paladin raced up it, his heart thundering his chest, fear palpable in his step. 

Was Shiro alive? How hurt was he? Would he even wake up?

The others followed him to the control room for Black, where Keith thought his heart leapt into his throat when he came to Shiro’s side, frantically checking for a pulse and all but collapsing once he found one. Shiro leaned forward uncomfortably in his restraints, head flopped in an unnatural position, but then Allura was there, resting him back against the seat and surveying his head wound. Hunk and Coran came to her aid, helping to steady Shiro while Lance and Pidge worked on freeing their unconscious leader.

And Keith – Keith held his brother’s hand. 

Then they all let out a collective gasp when suddenly Black shifted, lifting his head high above the ground to prevent their escape. The purple and gray lights of the dashboard flickered to life. 

“Black, you are not being a good kitty,” Hunk admonished, but Allura perked up, expression troubled before she pinned Keith with an anxious frown. “Keith, you’ll have to stay behind.”

In the Black Lion? “What! Princess, I need to be there for—”

Allura’s expression hardened, her fingers absentmindedly trailing along Shiro’s jaw. “You don’t understand, Keith, and I don’t have time to explain. But Black is very adamant that you stay within him until Shiro regains consciousness.”

This made no sense, and now he wished the garrison had offered a class on the psychology of ancient lion-shaped warships. “You are saying Black is…kidnapping me?”

“To ensure Shiro’s return, yes.” She glanced away suddenly, a light pink twinge brightening her cheeks. “Apparently, the Black Lion understands your familial bond with Shiro and knows that he will come back for you.”

So he was the bargaining chip in the Black Lion’s extortion scheme over his brother? God, what would Red say?

He dismissed that thought for now, and though it physically hurt Keith to think he wouldn’t be by Shiro’s side during his recovery, he also knew his brother wouldn’t recover if he didn’t agree to Black’s demands. 

What a stubborn lion, just like Shiro. He played dirty until he got what he wanted. 

“Fine. Fine. If it’ll get Shiro the help he needs, okay? Just go.”

“We will, young paladin,” Coran soothed, and then Black lowered his head again to let the team exit. 

As he watched Hunk and Coran drag his brother away from the cockpit of the Black Lion, Keith felt as if someone had ripped his heart free from his chest. He cursed Black for its separation anxiety – and for his own – but what he had said was the truth. Shiro was one half of his soul, and Red was the other. Perhaps he hadn’t searched ten thousand years to find his brother, but he’d searched, looking hopelessly for someone to call family. 

He eventually found Shiro, and so had Black. 

So Keith placed his bloodied hand on Black’s panel, and though he couldn’t hear the thoughts and feelings of this cat, like he heard Red’s, Keith thought by the slight rocking and low voice, that maybe – maybe Black was purring. 

_The End (for now)_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I lied. Maybe there is a cliffhanger...or two.


	6. Year Two - Of Blueberry Muffins and Sleeper Couches

Keith hopped on one leg, hair thick and wet upon his forehead, as he scrambled to get his left boot on. Once he managed to complete that very important task, he moved to the other, grabbed his jacket, and launched out Shiro’s door. 

After graduation, Shiro became an instructor at the Galaxy Garrison’s main base, training for a top-secret mission he couldn’t tell Keith about just yet, but it offered him the luxury of private quarters, even if it was just a one-bedroom apartment. Shiro said nothing, just brought Keith back that first night after graduation, threw him a pillow and a blanket, and showed him how to open the sleeper couch. 

But the instructors’ barracks were on the far end of the campus, away from the Second Years’ classes, and Keith hadn’t realized his mistake until the annoying cargo pilot kid sneered, “Dude, we know you’re good, all right? Do you have to rub it in?”

Keith blinked. He never said anything to the kid, let alone—oh. Keith blinked at the overly large gray and gold jacket hanging off his shoulders, Shiro’s jacket. In the rush to get to class on time, he’d grabbed Shiro’s uniform off the corner of the couch instead of his own orange jacket, but it was too late for him to run back to Shiro’s apartment before class started. 

“Cadet Kogane,” Professor Smith called as he turned from the front electric board to narrow his eyes at Keith, “I do not believe that is your garrison-issued uniform.”

Keith sighed. Great. This was not what he needed so early into his second year, especially since Shiro was the one who got most of his demerits voided last year. And in order to do that, he’d promised General Iverson that Keith’s “delinquent” behavior would not be repeated. Of course, not even a full week into the new year, and already Keith was in trouble 

Smith glanced down at this tablet and began to type, “Well, I’ll have to alert the front office that you have been—”

Three quick snaps sounded, a familiar noise Shiro made when he wanted Keith’s help with cooking or cleaning, and Keith whirled to see the newly decorated officer leaning in the back door, gray undershirt on his torso, orange jacket in his hand. Keith glanced back to confirm Smith was still focused on his tablet and quickly shed Shiro’s jacket, tossing it to his brother. He caught his orange jacket and zipped it as Smith glanced up, then did a double-take. 

“Cadet Kogane, what happened to the jacket you were wearing?”

Keith gave Shiro a thumbs up from behind his back as the cargo pilot snorted. “I am a cadet, Professor Smith, not an officer, so it is appropriate for me to wear this uniform.”

“Yes, but weren’t you just – I saw you – ”

Keith waited in parade rest, hands tucked snuggly against the small of his back. “Yes, sir?”

Professor Smith eventually let out of a frustrated sigh. “Sit down, Cadet Kogane, so we may start the lesson.”

“Yes, sir.”

The cargo pilot behind him growled. “Y’know, we could all be first in the class if we had a big brother who saved our ass when we screwed up.”

Keith would have retorted, but the only thing he thought to say was that Shiro wasn’t his brother. He was a close friend, maybe a mentor – and then Keith noticed the light weight tugging down his left pocket. He dipped his hand inside to find a blueberry muffin and a Capri Sun. So not only did Shiro race across campus to deliver his jacket – Shiro didn’t have a class until the afternoon – but he also made sure Keith ate breakfast.

Keith sat there, an uneasy feeling filling his chest, as he picked off the piece of the muffin and tossed it in his mouth. Was this what it was like to have a brother? Breakfast and jackets and sleeper couches? 

Now in his pristine gray jacket, Shiro passed by the open front door of the room, throwing Keith a quick grin and wave as he headed off to his duties elsewhere on campus. Keith flung him the same before a frown settled on his face. He wasn’t sure what concerned him more – the top-secret mission that threatened to take Shiro away from him or that the annoying cargo pilot was right. 

It was awesome having a big brother. 

_The End_


	7. Year Five – Metaphorical Punches vs. Real Punches

In retrospect, Shiro realized he’d made a mistake. It was a simple scouting mission, nothing extreme. Allura wanted to go down to the nearby planet and find the weaknesses in the Galra defenses, and Shiro refused to let her go alone. 

Keith, of course, stated the obvious. “You remember the last time you two went on a mission by yourselves? Allura was tortured by Zarkon. We almost lost the Black Lion, and then we were all scattered about the universe.”

“Are you saying we can’t be trusted?” Shiro asked with a furled eyebrow, amusement brightening his features. 

Keith scowled. “I’m saying a chaperon isn’t a bad idea.”

Shiro laughed, but Keith just crossed his arms and huffed. 

Coran voiced his displeasure as well, but ultimately, Shiro decided the small gathering would be the best course of action. 

“At least take the Black Lion,” Keith suggested. 

“And let it get into Zarkon’s hands?” Shiro rebuffed. “Not to mention, we’re trying to sneak onto the planet, not announce to the Galra Empire we’re here. We’re going to be fine, kiddo. Don’t worry.”

But Keith worried, and Shiro let out an exhausted sigh. After all, he’d given Keith a reason to worry, and he’d do anything to get that look of utter panic out of his little brother’s eyes. But taking Keith down to an unknown planet where the kid would attack the first Galra solider would only give Shiro a panic attack and end up blowing their cover, and they needed to remain unseen for now. 

Keith was desperate, though, and pulled out his trump card. “What did Black have to say about your strategy?”

Oooh. The kid was good, and Shiro hated that. He narrowed his eyes and waited for Keith to look away, but he kept firm until Shiro gave in. 

Of course Black was not happy with his plan. In fact, his lion snarled when he said he’d be going to the planet with just Allura, and Black had never snarled at him before. Ultimately, Black had no choice but to listen to reason, too – and turn his back on Shiro. 

At first it had unnerved Shiro just how alive robotic lions could be, but now, he adored his partner and his strong albeit frustrating personality. Didn’t Black know he was supposed to be on Shiro’s side, not Keith’s? 

Too many memories flashed through his mind as he entered the small craft to leave for the mission. Keith stood just beyond the hanger door, arms still crossed, face set in a critical frown. It was not unlike the one he wore the day Shiro left for Kerberos, but Shiro was determined not to let this mission end like the one on the Galra ship or the one to Kerberos. 

And it didn’t.

He and Allura sneaked onto the planet, and while she blended into the forces, Shiro weaved his way through the grounds, helping to gather intel for Pidge to decrypt. They returned to the Castle of Lions within five hours, exhausted but euphoric from their successful mission. 

Keith was nowhere to be seen, and neither was Lance. Hunk pulled him aside while Pidge rambled to the Princess and Coran about the information they’d stolen. 

“You’re the team leader, so what you say, goes, but you can’t leave Keith home when you’re on a mission. It’s not fair to him.”

Shiro sighed and wrung the back of his neck. “I know he’s concerned, and I get that he –”

“You don’t see it, Shiro. Keith prowls around the halls, snarling at anyone who comes within ten feet of him. We drew straws, and Lance lost. He called us from the training deck to _save_ him from Keith. And then Keith still went through two gladiators.” Hunk put a comforting hand on Shiro’s shoulder. “I know you and Keith were close from before all _this_ happened, but that year you were gone must have messed him up pretty badly. My advice? Don’t put him through more than you have to.”

Right. Shiro accepted the emotional punch to the gut he deserved and patted Hunk on his shoulder as he passed. Perhaps out of all of them, he and Keith were the luckiest. Both of them had no other family, so while he missed Earth and many of the comforts of home, Shiro only needed Keith for his world to be alright – and likewise, Keith just needed him.

Shiro sighed and retreated to his quarters for a quick shower and a change of clothes – a T-shirt and sweatpants. As soon as he was presentable again, he headed out to find Keith. 

It took longer to find Keith than he would have liked – he wasn’t in his usual haunts, the training deck, the living room, the bridge – and it allowed Shiro to feel the tiniest bit of fear that Keith felt during their year apart. While a captive of the Galra, Shiro longed for his brother’s gentle smile – the one he hid from the world – but he’d known Keith was safe on Earth, albeit frantic over his disappearance. And Shiro had been struggling the entire time to get back to Keith, but even the physical torture he endured by the Galra and in the games was nothing compared to the devastating fear and emotional turmoil he would have felt if the roles had been reversed. 

A part of him ached at the thought of how those dark months affected Keith, and though they’d been close since that first Christmas – Keith never going a day without finding Shiro in some way – Keith had never looked at him with that transparent fear like he did now. Every time he stepped out of the room, Keith’s eyes followed him, wondering, fearing if it would be the last time they’d see each other. He’d woken up quite a few nights to Keith palming open his door, and Keith rarely spoke. He grunted, waited until Shiro moved over, and then fell promptly asleep with some part of his body draped over Shiro’s warmth. 

Hunk was right. He was a fool to leave Keith here, but they weren’t alone anymore, just the two of them against the world. Now, they had a team, a pride. 

Shiro warmed at the thought of Pidge, Lance, Hunk, and Coran discussing ways to help Keith cope, and though Shiro was sure Keith found enjoyment in besting Lance, it obviously hadn’t been enough to calm his nerves. Shiro could relate. If anything ever happened to Keith, he was sure he’d crumble immediately. His little brother had become an irreplaceable part of his life, and though he’d lived a year without Keith, he couldn’t imagine a life without Keith in it.

But Shiro wasn’t sure what lay ahead of him, and as leader of the team, it was his job to protect his crew. 

As leader of the team, it was his job to die for his crew. 

Where would that leave Keith? 

Perhaps out of everything – even falling to the Galra Empire – that was what Shiro feared the most. What would happen to his little brother when he was no longer around? 

Shiro laughed at his ambivalence. After searching years for a family, he’d finally found one in a punk pilot who dared to take on the emperor of the universe for him, and all he wanted was for that the kid who looked up at him with so much affection and fear wouldn’t love him enough to die after him. Or for him. 

And Shiro didn’t know how to stop him. 

He finally decided to ask Red if he’d seen Keith, but Red wasn’t in her hanger. Keith didn’t go out, did he? Coran or Allura would have noticed and said something, but panic still raced through Shiro – until he heard a soft but insistent growl. Black? What was he—?

 _Come,_ he beckoned. 

When Black called, Shiro listened, and when he entered his hanger, he found Red lying before Black’s paws, head down to protect the bottom half of Black’s body. Black, himself, sat with his legs folded underneath him, too, though his head lifted to glower at Shiro with a dark, disapproving scowl. 

“I’m sorry,” Shiro said, and he’d meant it. 

He was wrong to leave Keith behind. He was wrong, maybe, to even go to Kerberos without his little brother, but he refused to put Keith into a dangerous situation he couldn’t control. He wanted to protect Keith, but Keith was growing up so fast and making his own decisions. And Red chose Keith had to be a Defender of the Universe. Shiro couldn’t just dismiss that. Keith had become literally – and always had been metaphorically – Shiro’s right arm, so perhaps he needed to start listening to him more. 

After all, it had been harder than Allura and he had thought to get off the planet. He should have taken Black – or maybe asked Pidge to drive them with Green and its cloaking device. 

Though he was the leader, apparently he still had a lot to learn. 

It wasn’t just him and Keith anymore. They had a family, a pride, and that was when Red raised her head to reveal Keith, asleep upon Black’s paw. 

When Shiro was gone, Keith had gone to _his_ lion for comfort. That was the second metaphorical punch he received today, and it hurt. 

Walking up, he lifted a hand to Red, and despite her initial hesitation, Keith’s lion lowered her head to allow Shiro to pet her. Then, Black lowered his head, too, and Shiro pressed his forehead against the cool metal surface. “You’ll watch after him, won’t you, Black? If something were to happen to me—”

Black and Red growled, almost simultaneously, and Shiro glanced back at Red. “Yes, I know he’s your Paladin, Red, and he needs you. But he’ll need everyone if—if—”

If he were to die. 

Black snarled. He refused to let that happen. 

Shiro smiled, enjoying the surge of affection from Black, and then he reclined back on Black’s paw, right next to Keith. As soon as he closed his eyes, Keith inhaled sharply, and his head pressed against Shiro’s shoulder. 

“You came back.”

“You had doubts?”

Shiro waited a moment for a reply that never came and then without opening his eyes, wrapped an arm about Keith’s shoulders to draw him close. “Yeah, me, too, kid. But I’m back, and we’re here. Together. Let’s rinse and repeat tomorrow, shall we?”

Black and Red agreed, once more dropped their heads to protect their Paladins. 

On the verge of sleep, Keith mumbled, “Take me with you next time.”

It wasn’t a request. 

Shiro pressed a tender kiss to the top of his head but didn’t reply.

“I’m coming with you next time,” Keith asserted. “I’m eighteen. I’m a Paladin and a Defender of the Universe. You need to trust me.”

Shiro took a deep, cleansing breath, and even though it sickened him, he resolved, “Okay.”

Keith froze. “Yeah?”

“Yes. You’re older now. You’re trained, and you’ve proven yourself time and time again in battles. But you’ll have to listen to me when we’re on small missions like this. You’ll have to be patient, and—and you have to not die.”

That came out more like a plea than Shiro would have liked, but he meant it. 

Keith sighed and relaxed against Shiro’s shoulder again. “Okay.”

Shiro hmph-ed. “Don’t make promises you can’t keep.”

“You said you’d come back from Kerberos, and then –”

“I did,” Shiro insisted, playing with the edges of Keith’s hair. “I was just fashionably late. So all in all, promise kept.”

Keith punched him – really punched him – in the side. 

And Shiro thought metaphorical punches hurt. 

_The End_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I write ahead, so I have three chapters of this done (minus proofing)-- a Kalnce sequel to "Soulmates," a story about Keith during the year Shiro was missing/dead, and the title story, "Blood Brothers." Any preference as to what should be the next chapter posted?


	8. Peace of Mind

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Captain, There Be Feels Here!
> 
> I’m not even going to pretend this could be canon. This is a self-indulgent chapter of emotional hurt/angst in which a broken Keith can’t deal with the fact that he’s lost the only family he’s ever known – and begins to hear lions.

_Year Three_

Keith claimed the right cushion of Shiro’s couch on day one of finals week, and though he left for exams and physical trials, he immediately returned after, typing away on essays or studying with various notebooks and texts surrounding him. 

He grunted greetings to Shiro when he noticed him – though in all honesty, he ignored Shiro most of the week, too engrossed in his work – when on Wednesday, just after ten P.M., Shiro slapped shut Keith’s laptop in mid-paragraph and fell to the middle cushion with a drawled out sigh. 

“Kiddo, we need to talk.”

Keith offered him one annoyed glance before opening his computer and recommencing typing. “In two days.”

Shiro slammed down the computer top again. “No. It’s waited long enough.”

“Shiro, I still have three papers to write, and I haven’t started to study for my thermodynamics exam, and you know I always screw up the – ”

Shiro’s eyes were sunken in, like he hadn’t slept well in a few days, and a serious expression settled upon his usually good-natured face. In his hands, he held rolled up papers, though the pages were rumbled, worn, like Shiro had read them over and over again. 

Whatever Shiro wanted to talk about, it was important enough for him to jeopardize Keith’s future at the garrison by stopping him mid-finals week. Plus, Shiro was stubborn. He would poke and prod and annoy Keith until he gave up, so Keith saved them both a lot of time by placing his laptop on the coffee table and surrending. “Alright, what is it?”

Shiro ran a hand through his unusually bedraggled hair, coiling apprehension low in Keith’s stomach, but he waited as patiently as he could for Shiro to gather what strength he needed to continue. 

Letting out a blustering sigh, Shiro finally met Keith’s earnest gaze. “Look, you know I’m going to Kerberos at the end of March.”

Keith decided not to answer. After Shiro told him everything about the top-secret mission that was no longer top secret, Keith professed his support for Shiro and his well wishes on a successful mission – and then took off. For three days, he stayed out at Shiro’s desert cabin, just gazing longingly into the night sky. Eventually, Shiro found him and brought him back to the garrison base – not without a stern lecture about turning Shiro’s hair white years before its time – and they agreed not to speak about the mission until they had to speak about it. 

Apparently, Shiro decided today was that day. 

“I’ll be back in time for next year’s holidays,” he broached, hand resting on Keith’s shoulder, “but in case I’m not – ”

Keith suddenly couldn’t breathe. An invisible hand crushed his heart, and Keith barely managed to utter, “You’re coming back. You promised you’d come back.”

“And I will,” Shiro assured, a sad smile failing to brighten his features, “but in case I don’t, we have to discuss what will happen to you – ”

“Nothing’s going to change because you’ll be here.” Keith hated the desperation he heard in his own voice and shot to his feet, sweeping up his laptop. “You’re coming back.”

“And I will,” Shiro tried again, hand falling to the cushion Keith had occupied, “but Keith – things happen. Fuel valves, energy fluxes, asteroids, pilot error – ”

“You’re the best pilot there is!” 

“I’ve seen your simulator scores, Keith,” Shiro reminded with a teasing smile before shaking his head. He became serious again. “Look, I know this is a difficult subject, but we have to discuss it, Keith. I need to know you’ll be okay if something were to happen to – ”

“Stop it!” Keith couldn’t listen. His skin felt uncomfortable, his nerves tingling, as he shoved his laptop into his bag. “I don’t want to talk about it. You’re coming back.”

With his back turned, Keith didn’t know Shiro had stood until a hand rested on his shoulder. He refused to turn, though, refused to show Shiro the shameful tears that coursed his flushed cheeks. 

“Keith…” Shiro murmured, “…I might not.”

That simple thought broke Keith, shattered his chest into a thousand pieces he thought could never be put back together, and he fled from Shiro’s apartment that night. 

Keith stayed the rest of the semester in his dorm room, typing away his exams and refusing to open the door when Shiro came by (and shocking his roommate who didn’t even realize he had one). After he finished his last exam, Keith walked back to his dorm room, debating about texting Shiro or ignoring him for the rest of his life, when he saw Shiro standing at the building’s entrance.

But Shiro didn’t yell at him for not returning any of calls or texts. He only held out the crinkled papers, a determined look upon his usually jovial face. “Sign these forms, and we don’t have to talk about this again.”

Keith crossed his arms, steadfast in his resistance. “What are they?”

“Peace of mind.”

“I’m not signing anything that says you won’t return.”

“Good because that’s not what this says.”

“Shiro – ”

Shiro let out an exasperated sigh. “I don’t care if you’re superstitious. I can’t be right now. I need to make sure you’ll be okay if something happens to me, and if that makes you uncomfortable, I don’t care. So sign the papers, grab your duffle, and let’s go decorate a desert willow.”

Keith wanted to enjoy the holidays with Shiro, make grill cheese and just soak up the shimmering sky, but something uneasy settled in his gut. And it had been there, nagging in his subconscious since he met Shiro – the fear that if he relied upon Shiro – if Shiro became an indispensable part of his life – that Shiro would leave.

And he was. Eventually. In four months, but still…

Shiro reached for him, cautiously as if approaching a feral cat, and then drew Keith against him. He pressed a quick kiss to the top of Keith’s head, and Keith surrendered, wrapping his arms about Shiro’s torso. 

“It’ll be okay, kid. I promise.”

“You’ll come back.” It wasn’t a question, but it sounded like one. 

Shiro’s disparaging sigh dusted across Keith’s hair. “I’ll come back.”

Keith signed the folded papers, never reading the forms. 

Less than three months later, Shiro took him out to the cabin once more, slamming a heavy melt box upon the porch. “You know what this is?”

Keith raised an eyebrow. “Is that a trick question?”

“It’s a fireproof box,” Shiro explained. “I keep it under the sink. It has all the important documents you will never need – the deed to the land and house, our speeders, my will – ”

Why couldn’t Shiro just drop it? Keith shot to his feet and stomped down the porch stairs toward his speeder. “Shiro, I don’t want to talk about this! You said we’d never have to talk about this again if I signed your stupid – ”

“All right! That’s it! I’m done!” Shiro promised, picking up the heavy box. “I’m just putting it back under the sink, and then we can race. Okay?”

Keith rolled his eyes and leaned against his speeder, arms crossed in mutiny. “Whatever.”

Shiro leaned out the door, the box completely out of view. “And just where am I putting this?”

Keith resolved then and there to kick his brother’s ass during their races. “Under the sink. Geez. Will you just drop it?”

When Shiro exited the house and zipped up his leather jacket, he ruffled Keith’s on the way to his black speeder. “Thanks for humoring me, kid.”

“You’re such an ass,” Keith seethed, and Shiro just laughed. “In a rush to lose to me again?”

Keith grumbled and didn’t even wait for them to count, zipping off into the desert and getting a head start. Somehow, he still lost. 

*^*^*

_Year Four_

Keith didn’t cry when he saw the news report about the Kerberos Mission disaster. He couldn’t breathe for a few moments, crouching low on the ground and bringing his head between his legs. He missed the rest of the day’s classes. The sun lingered low below the Sierra Nevada Mountains, and the world grew dark. Keith wasn’t sure how long he stayed there, unable to move, unable to function – but eventually Commander Iverson found him and brought him back to his quarters for the night. 

Keith just sat upon the left couch cushion, the opposite one than he’d claimed on Shiro’s couch, and just stared out the window and into the starry sky. Shock numbed his system and blanked his thoughts, but he never once shed a tear. 

Shiro promised he’d be home for the holidays, and Shiro kept his promises. They were going to eat grilled cheese and decorate that desert willow, and Shiro would tell him all about his journey to Kerberos and how brilliant the stars sparkled on the edge of the solar system. 

Shiro was still out there, and he’d come home. He promised he’d come home. 

But he wouldn’t, and Keith knew that. Keith knew it the moment Shiro missed the call he’d mistakenly scheduled for the day after his birthday, not the actual day. He knew it the moment Shiro had called him family on his first transmisison from space because Keith couldn’t have a brother. Life just wouldn’t allow him that privilege. 

He’d known it the moment Shiro told him he would going to the far reaches of the solar system and leaving Keith behind. 

Iverson was reluctant to let Keith go to class the next day and asked him to see the base’s psychiatrist, but Keith refused. He was fine. Shiro wasn’t his brother, not really, and he’d been alone for the first thirteen years of his life. If anything, the last three years had been the dream, and he was now just waking up to the bitter nightmare called life.

Then some kid wiped out on the simulator, breaking off one of his wings and then killing the entire crew – and the professor went off on a tirade. 

“This is exactly how Captain Shirograne killed his entire crew. Do you want to follow in his footsteps, Cadet? If so, then you deserve the death he received –burned alive until there’s nothing to bury!”

Keith didn’t know what happened until he stood over the professor’s body, his knuckles bloodied from the man’s nose. 

The punishment had been swift and damning, and Keith left the garrison base, unsure where to go but knowing of only one destination – Shiro’s cabin. Tugging Shiro’s jacket tight about his body, he just stared up at the starry sky, an unending void burning cold in his chest and threatening to steal his soul. He’d always felt he’d find – something – out there in space. He wasn’t even sure what he was looking for, only that it was out there, waiting for him to find it. But what – or maybe whom? Was it Shiro?

A soft but somber roar startled him, and Keith’s head whipped about. His eyes scanned the darkened landscape, searching for the source of the sound. He saw nothing, heard nothing else, but he felt…something. It was out there, living – calling to him.

He looked up to the night sky once more, seeking answers he’d never receive, because life would never be kind. Life could never be kind. 

It had taken Shiro from him. 

He fell asleep on the roof that night, draped in the scent and feel of his brother’s jacket. He stayed up there most of the nights as the gentle desert breeze rushed through the canyons. Sometimes it whipped about his body; other times, it caressed his exposed cheek, purring into his ear like a cat, luring him farther and farther into the desert. The desert was alive, but he refused to listen to it, refused to follow its siren call. 

To where and to what end, he had no idea. 

Instead, Keith made trips to town, buying supplies as needed, and then he simply sat on the roof, waiting and listening and sensing the desert’s air. It buzzed with activity, with energy, and it reminded him of Shiro. His brother exuded excitement, and though he was patient and calm, an undercurrent of confidence and power enchanted Keith every time he was near Shiro. 

But Shiro was gone, and still Keith didn’t cry. 

Commander Iverson showed up three weeks later. He drove to the cabin in one of the garrison-issued rovers, so Keith heard him coming for longer than a mile. He dropped down from the roof and debated about running – the garrison retained custody of him until his eighteenth birthday, even though he was expelled – but he refused to leave Shiro’s cabin to them. 

He waited on the porch, arms crossed, stare unwavering as Iverson stepped out of his rover, alone, and sizing up Keith. Keith did the same, his glare unforgiving, and unexpectedly, Iverson broke first. 

“You had to punch him? You couldn’t have done anything else?”

Keith sighed and dropped his arms, falling back into one of the rocking chairs. “He deserved it.”

“That matters very little in the scheme of things,” Iverson grumbled and took a seat next to Keith. It took every fiber of Keith’s being not to eject the man from Shiro’s chair. “Y’know what a trash heap of a year it’s been for me? The Kerberos Mission failed. I lost one of my best friends and his son who has been like a nephew to me, and one of the greatest pilots I’ve ever trained – oh, and your brother, who was a legend all his own.”

Keith redirected his gaze toward the bright, morning sky. He’d always felt he’d find something in the far reaches of space – something brilliant and awesome that called to him, and he just needed to get out there to find it. Now, he never would. 

“If you came to lecture me, Commander, you’re wasting your breath.”

“I actually didn’t. You’re getting that as an added perk.” He rocked back, nodding indulgently to himself. “You shouldn’t have punched your instructor, no matter what he said.”

“He blamed Shiro for the mission failure. He said – “ Keith couldn’t bring himself to reiterate it, and he averted his eyes, willing away the tears that blurred his vision. 

Had…Had Shiro really…? Had he really suffered so horrifically before he…?

Iverson hummed thoughtfully, clicking his tongue against his teeth. “Nice place you have out here. Captain Shirogane mentioned it a few times. Didn’t realize how peaceful it is.”

Peaceful. Quiet. Lonely. 

“Kid like you can get in a lot of trouble out here.”

“So you came to evict me?” Keith scoffed, though in retrospect, he should have been suspecting it. Shiro probably left everything to garrison, which meant Keith would lose the only home he’d ever known. 

He dipped his head back against the rocking chair, eyes sliding shut. Why couldn’t life just give him one break? 

Iverson slapped him on the knee, and Keith jerked alert. The commander shrugged before looking into the desert again. “Can’t evict someone from what’s lawfully theirs.”

Keith blinked. He couldn’t have heard that right. “This is Shiro’s cabin, and since he’s not…here – ” He couldn’t bring himself to say why. “ – shouldn’t everything to go to the state or the garrison?”

The general blinked, then took off his hat to wipe the droplets of sweat from his brow. Keith had long become accustomed to the desert heat, and Shiro had practically thrived it in. It seemed the general, especially with his layers of military garb, still hadn’t learned how to cope. And that included giving bad news to family members. 

“Kid, you were one of the brightest cadets I ever taught. Why are you giving me such a hard time about this? Is it because of the mission? Look, we had to give the insurance companies some explanation in order to get you and the Holts the financial support you deserve. Pilot error was the only solution that would provide the substantial pay-out.”

None of this made sense. “Pay-out?”

“Yes. Every member of a mission receives a life insurance policy, and if they die during active duty, then their family members receive compensation. Didn’t Shirogane go over this with you?”

“Why would he?” Keith seethed, arms crossed as he glared at anything but the commander. He really didn’t want to talk about this. “This doesn’t concern me. Shiro and I aren’t not related.”

“Biologically, no, I s’ppose not, though that never seemed to matter to Shirogane,” Iverson mused. “Course, legally, you are, and since you’re his financial heir and all – ”

Keith whipped about so quickly, he almost fell off his rocker. “Wait. _What!_ Shiro and I were close, but he never – he wouldn’t have – ” 

“Of course he did,” Iverson replied, chair creaking as he rocked back suddenly. “You wouldn’t have been eligible for the financial assistance if you weren’t.”

“ _I’m not._ ” Keith’s chest throbbed as he stood and bit the lip to keep from yelling. “Commander, Shiro and I were never – ”

“It’s impossible…” Realization flickered in the commander’s dark eyes, and he turned away from Keith, fingers scrubbing across the bristles of his chin. “...did Shirogane not tell you? But he must have. You had to give consent. You’re over twelve, so there’s no way he could have done it without you knowing.”

Keith began to wonder if Iverson was talking to himself or to _him._

“Done what? Commander Iverson, I don’t – ”

“You had to sign the papers.”

Keith’s body flushed numb as soon as the words left the commander’s mouth. There was a moment of white noise, where everything seemed to drown out, and all Keith heard was the rapid thumping of his own heart. Then, a whirlwind thoughts and emotions spun through his mind, and they led to one single thought. 

It was as if Shiro stood next to him and spoke into his ear, _And just where am I putting this?_

“Under the sink,” Keith murmured, and he shot off the porch and into the house as the commander muttered, “What in the dickens are you – ”

Keith collapsed to his knees before the rickety cabinets in the kitchen and flung open the door under the sink. The thing practically fell off, but Keith ignored as he reached for the heavy, fireproof box awaiting him. He paused for a moment, unsure if he wanted to continue, but a sudden gust of air blew through the house, ruffling the papers hanging on the wall and bringing with it that surge of energy, rising tiny bumps upon his suddenly clammy skin. An encouraging purr sounded in the back of his mind. 

Keith flipped open the latch and pushed back the top of the box. The papers were neatly tucked into envelopes, each meticulously labeled. Deed for the shack. Titles to the speeders. Will. Insurance Policy. 

Certificate of Adoption.

The papers shook terribly between Keith’s hands, so much so that he was barely able to read them. The first paper was the actual certificate, while the subsequent ones were copies of forms Shiro had submitted to the courts. They were dated just before the winter break, and in a tiny box at the bottom where Keith had signed, read “Signature of Consenting Minor.”

Shiro had adopted him. 

“Shirogane adored you, y’know,” Iverson murmured, his voice sounding just over Keith’s shoulder. “He’d had friends before you showed up, but he never cared an iota for them like he did you. And he just wanted to make sure you’d be taken care of in case something happened to him.” 

A chair creaked. The commander sat down. 

“The only way you would have access to his insurance policy was if you were related, so he took the necessary steps to make that happen.” Clothes ruffled; the commander shrugged. “You’re taken care of for the rest of your life. The polices for fallen explorers are quite generous when they die during active duty.”

A sharp, searing agony echoed in Keith’s chest, and his entire body bowed forward, a fine trembling seizing his lithe frame. 

“That’s why I came all the way out here today, Kogane,” Iverson continued, tone pitched to soothe a troubled child. “To discuss your options for the pay-out and to see if you need any help probating the will, seeing as Shirogane left everything of his to you.”

Ragged breaths escaped through Keith’s clenched teeth as his hands creeped up to clutch his own shoulders. He squeezed his eyes shut, and though tears stung behind his closed eyes, they never fell. 

The conversation from the last holiday break echoed just on the edge of hearing, like he was listening to the voice of the wind. 

_“Sign the papers, and we don’t have to talk about this again.”_

_“What are they?”_

_“Peace of mind.”_

_“I’m not signing anything that says you won’t return.”_

_“Good because that’s not what this says.”_

But that was exactly what it said. Shiro wanted to adopt him and make Keith his financial heir just in case he never came back. But Shiro promised to come back, and now Keith knelt in the middle of a cabin he owned, holding a piece of paper that proved he was no longer alone in the world – yet he’d never felt more so. 

That energized wind, powered by something Keith couldn’t understand, blew through the house again, encircling him in its cradling embrace. The commander muttered something about the damn heat, but Keith placed a stabilizing hand on the floor and fought the sucking void in his chest that threatened to swallow him whole. 

He only barely managed to breathe as the commander’s words replayed in his mind. “You said you had to give the insurance companies an explanation,” Keith accused in a bitter whisper. “You said that pilot error was the only solution.”

Iverson froze, and Keith somehow pulled his attention away from the paper in his hand to glare back at the commander. “Where’s Shiro, Commander? What really happened to the Kerberos mission crew?”

With a bracing sigh, Iverson leaned back in his chair. “Look, kid. Families of MIA astronauts don’t get insurance money. Commander Holt’s wife and daughter are going to need that, now that Holt and his son are gone, and now that you’re out of the garrison, you will, too.”

Keith’s jaw fell agape as he stared dumbstruck at Iverson. A moment passed and then another, and then despite himself, a smile curled upwards on the edge of his lips. “He’s alive…” Keith whispered. 

The world around him seemed to explode, an energy Keith couldn’t explain electrifying the air, and despite Iverson’s sputtered protests – “We don’t know that. There’s just no evidence of a crash we can find on the surface of Kerberos. They could have been abducted by aliens for as much as we know!” – Keith felt it – a tether, a lifeline, some sort of connection to something bigger than himself – and perhaps even Shiro. 

Iverson eventually left that night but only after Keith promised not to go to the media or anyone else, and he didn’t. Keith just climbed to the roof of the shack and stared out at the stars. And he fell asleep up there, using Shiro’s vest as a pillow. 

When the sun rose the next day, Keith stepped out on the porch, making sure to bring a water bottle, his dagger, and various supplies. The wind howled, whipping about his body and ruffling his clothes, almost how he thought a sprite might do, and then he imagined the roar of a lion, all fierce and proud, just on the edge of his hearing. 

He followed its echoing beckon through the desert canyons, the electrified wind billowing in his wake. 

*^*^*

_Year Five_

Shiro returned to Earth, but Keith wasn’t sure he came back.

Keith would never be able to adequately explain the surge of relief that crashed over him the moment he saw Shiro on the bed in the alien spacecraft. A swell of worry raced after it as he saw Shiro was unconscious – from what, he didn’t know, but perhaps the garrison techs put him out? His eyes racked over the rest of his brother’s features – the scar across the bridge of his nose, the white lock of hair, his beefed-up body...

What happened to Shiro out there?

He had no time to process, and thankfully, that loud cargo pilot – Lance – came or Keith wouldn’t have been able to get Shiro to safety in time. 

After escaping the ship, Keith managed to get Shiro back to the cabin and into the bedroom with the help of Lance and his team, Big Guy and Short Girl. Panic seized his gut when Shiro didn’t wake at all during their journey, only groaning every so often, but the Big Guy placed a hand on his shoulder – didn’t this guy know personal space was three feet? – and said, “The med techs gave him a tranquilizer to study his arm.”

“He should come out of it by morning,” Short Girl confirmed, plopping down upon the chair in the corner of the main room to type away on her computer. 

His arm…? On the ship, Keith had glanced at it briefly, made a note to process it later, and then sliced Shiro free. 

God, what had replaced Shiro’s arm? It looked like a prosthetic of some sort, but more high-tech than anything that could have been created on Earth. And how did that happen? Iverson said there was no evidence of a crash, so how and when did Shiro lose his arm?

Keith didn’t care. Shiro was home. If his hair had changed or his body juiced – those were superficial issues they could address…except it wasn’t just that. 

Despite Lance’s initial hesitation – 

“Are we sure we should be trusting Mullet here?” 

“I took the same medical courses at the garrison as you.”

– the group eventually let him tend to Shiro alone, especially once they saw the picture on the end table of him and Shiro that first Christmas, a selfie Shiro had surprised him with, taken right in front of the desert willow.

But Keith wasn’t prepared for the full extent of his brother’s injuries. 

A fine layer of oil covered Shiro’s skin, like he hadn’t showered in some time, though he seemed well groomed for such a thought. Keith decided he’d clean his brother as best he could – wash his face and chest, maybe his legs – and leave the rest for Shiro when he woke up. He’d also address any open wounds and take a look at that prosthetic – except there weren’t any open wounds, only scars. 

As soon as Keith removed Shiro’s shirt and the top portion of his jumpsuit, he immediately doubled over the nearest garbage can and puked what was left of his lunch. 

The scar on Shiro’s face wasn’t the only one. His brother had been brutally tortured, whipped and sliced and harmed in any number of ways that Keith couldn’t fathom. He physically ached, his body trembling, stomach knotting as he sneaked another glance at Shiro’s damaged body. 

All this time while Keith mourned and looked – Shiro had been hurting. 

“Hey, Keith? You okay?” Big Man called from the doorway, and Keith pulled it together enough to grumble, “I’m fine. How about knocking, all right?” 

Big Man – Hunk was his name? – sighed and put his hands up in a surrender motion. “Right. Sorry about that. You need any help?”

 _Yes._ “No.” 

“You sure?”

 _No._ “Yes.”

“All right. We’re out here if you need us.”

Us? Like they were a team or something. The only person whom he’d ever needed was passed out on the bed, half-naked and looking like the tortured prisoner of war he truly was. But Keith couldn’t kick the trio out of his house, not yet. They had helped him save Shiro, and that energy, that steady presence that kept him company over the last few months and guided him to Shiro, thrummed in the back of his mind, like it was pleased they were all here. 

A part of him wanted to be alone with his brother after being away from him for so long, but another part was glad that he didn’t have go through this by himself. 

Keith eventually managed to pick himself off the ground, wipe the bile from his chin, and finally tend to brother. Once he finished, he just sat next to Shiro, waiting for him to waken, fingers loosely folded with Shiro’s human hand. There was so much to discuss – from the weird energy to the lion carvings to Shiro’s fated crash landing. He wasn’t sure what destiny had in store for them, but if it did this to his only family, destiny would meet his blade. Keith wouldn’t stand for anything less.

But destiny would wait. The only thing Keith cared about what his brother. With all those physical scars carved into his skin, what sort of mental anguish did Shiro suffer? Did Shiro really return to him – or was the person who crash-landed last night someone completely different?

“He’s stronger than he looks,” someone whispered just to Keith’s right, and he nodded absently – before his body processed. He jerked then, breath quickening as he whirled to find Lance there, looking down at Shiro with a mixture of regret and pity. 

Keith hated that expression. 

“So what happened to him?’

“Don’t know, but whatever it was, it wasn’t good.”

“So there really is alien life out of then, huh? And they’re certainly not friendly.”

Keith snorted. “That is the understatement of the century.”

“So now what do we do?” Lance asked, head cocked to the side as he regarded Shiro’s peaceful slumber. “Y’know, since we all kinda just took on the garrison to free Shiro? I bet we’re going to get a whole lot more than detention.”

“Not my problem.” 

Lance snorted. “Well, you’re all heart.”

But it wasn’t his problem. He’d be grateful for them and he’d tolerate them – the energy swirled in the cabin, practically choking him – but he didn’t care what happened between them and the garrison. They’d made their choice last night, and they were just going to have to deal with it, whatever it was. 

A tiny growl flirted on the edge of his hearing, urging him, guiding him, and Lance thumbed behind him. “Hunk made some food. He sent me to ask if you wanted any.”

Keith blinked. “I only have cereal and milk.”

“And Pop-Tarts, but Hunk is a genius in more than just mechanical engineering,” Lance laughed, and the annoying – infectious – sound drew Keith a step forward before he stopped and glanced back. 

“He’s not moving until the morning,” Lance urged, waiting. “Let’s go, Mullet. If you pass out from lack of nutrients, I’m leaving you right on the floor.”

Keith hesitated, but the energy pushed him forward, like it had led him to Shiro. Still, he doubled back and leaned over, hesitating. After a quick internal struggle, he pressed a kiss to the top of Shiro’s forehead, squeezed his human hand, and retreated to the main room to eat. 

He returned not too long after and noticed Shiro had shifted, his head rolled to the side, his mouth slightly open. That white lock of his hair dusted across his now pale forehead, and Keith couldn’t help himself. He knelt before his brother’s face and brushed it away, so he could see Shiro’s eyes if they happened to open. 

They snapped open. 

He barely let out of a gasp before something cold and hard snatched his throat, and then Keith was grunting, his back slammed up against the bedroom wall, Shiro’s non-human clamped around his throat. Keith instinctively clawed at the hand, trying to break free, but violent coughs wracked his body. His lungs burned from the lack of oxygen, and black spots quickly filled his visions. 

He could barely hear the desperate and worried voices over the sound of his own blood throbbing in his ears, and he stared into smoky eyes he no longer recognized. They were wild and dangerous, promising a swift and immediate death, and Keith realized that even though Shiro returned, perhaps he’d never come back. 

He selfishly allowed himself to think this was for the best, that he wouldn’t be able to deal with losing Shiro _twice_ – and his head began to droop, his eyes to flutter, and his vision to darken on the edges. But the energy swelled, pulsating within every fiber of his being. That lion’s growl echoed in his mind, but this time, it wasn’t teasing him or leading him. 

It was a full, resounding roar. 

The hand upon his throat lessened, so he could suck in a shallow but life-sustaining breath, and then those gray eyes lightened. They shook, frightened and overwhelmed and vulnerable, but so very familiar. 

“…Keith?” Shiro asked, sounding as broken as he looked, his non-human hand falling completely away from Keith’s neck. Both his hands cupped Keith’s shoulders, and then in the next moment, Keith found himself plastered against Shiro’s chest, those strong arms cradling him in a smothering embrace. 

Lips brushed against the top of his head, and the energy smoothed and flowed, more like a reassuring breeze now than a throbbing vein. The lion’s roar lowered and then dissipated, though it remained, steady and true in the back of his mind, a connection Keith couldn’t explain. 

But it was strengthened, warm and soothing, now that he’d gotten Shiro back. 

Keith’s arms slid about Shiro’s torso before they fisted in the back of Shiro’s T-shirt. 

Shiro came back. 

Pressing his face into Shiro’s chest, Keith finally released all the worry, anguish, and uncertainty he’d carried from the moment the Kerberos mission countdown began. 

And he sobbed.

_The End_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’ve been writing (very slowly) Shiro’s side of this story. It’s hopefully going to be a multi-chapter story with snippets of Keith and Shiro moments dispersed throughout it.


	9. Year Five - The One with Klance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sequel to Chapter Five - Soulmates - Keith is held prisoner by the Black Lion until Shiro recuperates and returns. Thankfully, he's allowed visitors.

“Wait. You’re talking to the Black Lion now?”

Keith shrugged and resituated himself in the pilot’s chair, one leg dangling over the left arm. His hand rested upon the purple console, typing a few keys to bring up a data pad. “Not…really. It’s hard to explain. I can feel Black’s energy, maybe some of his emotions, but it’s nothing like my connection with Red.”

“So it’s like when you felt Blue back on Earth,” Lance asked, eyes narrowing as he watched the purple writing pop up on the screen. 

“Exactly. Blue was meant for you, but he drew me to him.”

“And you knew about Shiro’s crash landing on Earth.”

“Sorta. Yeah.”

“So what kind of freak are you?” 

Keith cocked his head to the side, eyebrows furled as Lance snorted and crossed his arms. “What? It’s a legitimate question. It’s almost as if you’re in sync with the lions like Allura, and you’re human? Dude, you _have_ to be some kind of freak.”

Keith rolled his eyes and went back to scanning the data. “Whatever. You thought knocking on a force field would get it to drop.”

Lance leaned over to flick Keith’s ear, startling the Red Paladin. “Hey, it worked, so don’t knock it.”

“Did you just…flick me?”

Lance did again, right in the middle of Keith’s forehead. “Uh, yeah. You want to make something of it?”

Sometimes, Keith just didn’t understand Lance, and this was one of those times. Cooped up in the Black Lion until Shiro finished recuperating in the cyro-pods, Keith had no choice but to wait, held prisoner by his older brother’s lion. The team kept him company – Hunk brought his meals; Pidge updated him on Shiro’s progress; Coran came with stories and some Altean combat moves; and Allura draped an elegant arm over Keith’s shoulders and drew him close with reassuring words and a kiss upon his forehead. 

(Keith wasn’t blind. Even if Shiro didn’t know what was happening there, Keith certainly did.)

But what the hell was Lance doing here? He eventually said as such. 

Lance feigned a shocked expression. “Dude, seriously? We’ve been together for how many months now, and you’re questioning my altruism?”

Keith snorted. “What altruism? You’re bored because Pidge is worried about Shiro and typing away on her laptop, and Hunk is probably in the kitchen, cooking away his issues. And Coran and Allura will probably be chatting in Altean. So I’m your best bet.”

“I’m hurt! I give away my third movement of the Spicolian quintant – ”

“You’re saying it wrong.”

“ _You’re_ wrong.”

Keith sighed and thumped his head back against Shiro’s seat. The weight trapped his hair against his neck, and he growled. It was long, even for his standards, but he couldn’t get it cut until he was free from Black. And Black wouldn’t release him until Shiro returned, and how was Shiro? Pidge hadn’t been around in a few hours. What if something happened she wasn’t telling him? How long would she wait before telling him? What if Shiro was still alive but couldn’t get to see him? Or—

Why was Lance pushing his head forward and trailing his fingers through Keith’s strands? And thankfully the Black Lion came equipped with a bathroom, complete with a shower, so Keith’s hair didn’t feel like he could style it without any gel. 

“You know, my uncle used to pull his hair back like this at the beach,” Lance murmured, and where he got a tie, Keith didn’t wonder. “He likes rocking the ‘male bun,’ but yours isn’t that long. So you’re going to have settle for a tail.”

Keith let out a sigh he hadn’t known he’d been holding, the gentle ministrations melting all the tension from his shoulders. “I used to put it up back on Earth when training. Shiro would ruffle my hair to distract me, but if I put it in a tail, he usually left it alone.”

“Allowing you to gain the advantage?”

Keith hummed but didn’t reply because he never had an advantage when battling Shiro. Less so now with Shiro’s sharp instincts and new techniques thanks to his time as a gladiator. 

Lance pulled a wayward lock of Keith’s hair behind his ear before his fingers buried down to Keith’s scalp, massaging. “Y’know, I don’t think you or Shiro ever said what’s up with you two. Like, you’re close but not brothers.”

Keith’s face scrunched. “We _are_ brothers.”

“Oh. Really? So different fathers, same mothers?”

Keith jerked his hair from Lance’s – admittedly soothing – hold. “Blood doesn’t dictate family, y’know.”

“Well, yeah, ‘course, man.” Lance’s cheeks tinged a light rosy color, and he reached out to tug on one of Keith’s strands. “Got an aunt and an uncle, and a few cousins who aren’t blood-related. I’d love to bring you down there to meet them all. They’ll absolutely hate you at first – I’m pretty loved – but they’ll come around, especially if you bring your _hermano_ with you. I think my aunts and sisters will just fawn all over him.

“But you’d have to, y’know, be normal. Not your usual annoying self whose closed off from the universe and hate all of us in it – except Shiro…” 

Lance prattled, but Keith didn’t mind. It sounded natural, familiar, soothing. Oh, God. When did Lance’s absentminded blather become “soothing”?

“How about the rest of the Kogane – Shirogane family, huh? They must be worried about you guys back home.”

Keith decided not to wander down that abandoned path. It wasn’t entirely his story to tell, and Shiro hated to broach that subject, too. 

Lance took the hint. “Well, it’s nice to have your brother here with you.”

Yeah. And Keith didn’t take that for granted, especially after thinking he’d lost the only family he’d ever known last year. God, he wanted to be watching Shiro’s cryo-pod right now – like that would do something – but Black refused to let him. What if something happened to Shiro and he wasn’t there to help?

Black rumbled suddenly, shaking like he’d gotten wet, and Keith lunged forward, placing his hands flat on the lion’s console. Through the windows, Keith saw Red shoot to her feet – she’d been staying in Black’s den since this whole thing started – and his eyes shuttered closed as he felt her thoughts and touched souls with Black. 

“Sorry, sorry, Black,” he murmured, petting the lion again. “You’re right. We just have to wait it out together.”

That simple thought froze Keith in his seat. Was that why Black wanted him here? To commiserate and wait out the unfathomably long days until Shiro recovered?

Red attacked – actually attacked Black – when Keith didn’t come to visit her, snarling and clawing and demanding her paladin returned to her. Eventually, Black subdued her, nuzzling against her head and purring in a way that endeared both Keith and Red to him. Black could be a stubborn cat, but he was lonely and needed his pride – and his paladin. 

A tiny squeak from the left side of the cockpit drew Keith out of his reverie, and he glanced back to find Lance crouching next to the side panel, hands out on either side to hold him up. His face was a collection of panic and fright. 

“Wha-Wha—What the hell just happened?”

Keith drew up his legs, crossing them on Shiro’s seat, but kept a comforting hand upon Black’s console. “Black wasn’t happy with my thoughts, so he decided to console. He…has a unique way of doing it.”

Lance reminded Keith of Hunk during their first days as paladins, all green and sickly, and if he’d had a bag, he would have offered it to Lance. But the slightly older Paladin eventually sighed and slid down the panel until he sat with his legs to his chest, head tipped back against the gray walls. “I _so_ did not sign up for this.”

“You signed up to be a space explorer,” Keith pointed out, hand brushing across his now naked neck. Hm. Felt cooler, refreshing, to have his hair back in a tail again. “You didn’t think you would come in contact with aliens or just not lion-shaped warships with whom you would form a mystical bond?”

Lance visually relaxed, all but collapsing against the floor. “Haha. Well, Mr. I’m-Best-in-Class, why’d you get booted from the garrison, huh? They said you had a disciplinary issue, and now that I know you – dude, I can totally see you getting kicked out. But what’s the whole story, huh? You just didn’t wake up on the wrong side of the bed and decide to take it out on an instructor.”

Keith was unreasonably touched that Lance had thought better of him, especially after almost a year together in the pride, but at the moment, he absolutely loathed Lance for making him remember those torturous days when he thought he’d lost Shiro. And even though he’d been able to lock his feelings away, chalk it up to some stupid theory that he should have known he’d eventually lose the only person that ever made him feel safe and normal – that life couldn’t be that kind to him – that one day, he couldn’t control his emotions. 

“They blamed the Kerberos mission failure on pilot error.”

Even with his eyes closed, Keith imagined Lance’s easy shrug. “So? What does that have to do with anything? Human error happens all the time.”

“ _Pilot_ error, Lance. They blamed the entire mission’s failure on the actions of one person.”

“So? The pilot of the mission was – oh.”

That day, his instructor went too far, screaming at some hapless cadet that he shouldn’t strive to be like the garrison’s legendary cadet, that Shiro had killed the rest of his crew and deserved the violent death he received. 

Keith sucker-punched the professor, effectively ending the man’s tirade. 

“Good,” Lance hummed, reaching forward to place a hand upon Keith’s now tight fist. “ _He_ deserved more than your wimpy fist.”

“You think so?” Keith let the dig slide, uncurling his fingers to fold them loosely with Lance’s.

“Hell yeah! What kind of idiot screams that to kids? And in front of the person’s brother? That’s just cruel.”

Yeah, Keith conceded after a moment. That was pretty harsh of the instructor, and through Black’s front screen, Keith watched as Red raised her head. She warmed his soul with her own fiery presence, agreeing with both him and Lance. But Keith wasn’t sure how he felt about Blue, who came to rest her head upon Red’s back, but he was too caught up with his own swirl of emotions to care. 

“Don’t…Don’t tell Shiro,” Keith found himself saying, fingers tightening about Lance’s. His plea was desperate. “I haven’t told him why I was booted, and he hasn’t asked.”

A part of Keith thought Shiro knew the reason and wasn’t ready to face the guilt, even if none of it was his fault. But that was Shiro, always accepting responsibility for things he couldn’t control. 

Lance sent him a sinister leer. 

Keith immediately regretted his confession. 

“So what are you going to give me for my silence?” Lance asked. 

Keith blew out a sigh and turned his attention back to Red and Blue, who now seemed quite comfortable tucked under Black’s chin. “Why are you here?” he asked again, unbelievably exhausted all of a sudden. 

For one of the very few times since they met, Lance was serious. “You know exactly why I’m here.”

It was the same reason why Keith didn’t pull away from Lance’s hold. It was the same reason why he allowed and even indulged in Lance’s calming caresses, and it was why he didn’t fear what he would say next. 

“I’m scared.”

“I know,” Lance said, equally as low. “I am, too.”

For Shiro. For them. For the universe. 

“But your brother’s strong, and so are you. Not as strong as me, mind you,” Lance teased with a gentle squeeze of Keith’s hand, “but strong nonetheless.”

Black rumbled in agreement and then out of nowhere, roared – loud and excited, tossing his head back so quickly that Lance almost fell out of the cockpit and back into the ship. But with their jointed hands, Keith held on, helping to keep Lance close. 

A surge of giddiness flowed through Keith – from Black, he felt, not Red – but he assumed that came from Black wanting to reassure him. 

“I think Shiro’s lion is trying to kill me,” Lance muttered, coming to sit half on Keith’s lap and half on Shiro’s chair. “Quit hogging all the room!”

“This isn’t your seat, y’know.”

“Well, it’s not yours, either!” Lance’s eyes flittered across the window shield, skimming the foreign language upon the suddenly bright purple screen, before his eyes flew wide. “Is this…Does the Black Lion talk to Shiro in Galra?”

Keith shrugged. “Apparently. Zarkon was its original Paladin, so it kinda makes sense, y’know?”

Lance bumped Keith’s shoulder. “So, can Shiro read and understand Galra?”

“Well, he was with them for a year.” And away from Keith. “And Shiro already knows three languages. He’s got a talent for them.”

“And pretty much everything else. The guy is like a genius or something. He’s gotta be.”

Keith shrugged and stared at the screen, not really seeing it. Shiro’s intellect, bravery, and all his talents were impressive, but none of the team had ever seen Shiro on macaroni and cheese day at the mess hall. After that, Keith held no doubt his brother was human. 

“This—This is incredible,” Lance muttered, taking in all the different messages Black sent them. Across the screen, various readings in different colors – the colors of the lions – flashed up, giving vital signs and other important data. Where before Black only supplied Keith with bits and pieces of data from the castle and lions, he now fed him a wealth of information. 

“Blue never gives me this much information,” Lance muttered.

“Blue’s paladin isn’t our leader.”

“Yeah, well, neither is Black’s.”

Keith nodded. True. Allura was actually their leader, though she acted more like their general while Shiro was their field commander. 

“I wonder what else Black can do.”

Taking it all in, they missed seeing Yellow and Green enter Black’s den, following a solitary figure. 

“I think—he’s really protective,” Keith wondered, free hand massaging Black’s console again. “That’s why he demanded I stay. I think Shiro comes to take him for rides because if not, Black wouldn’t let him out at all. I think—I think Black fights with him every single time he lands not to let Shiro go.”

“Well, after your last paladin became the ruler of the galaxy and tried to kill your new paladin, I think I would be a little protective, too.”

The thought saddened Keith. “It must have been hard on them, going ten thousand years without their paladins.”

In the back of his mind, Keith felt Red purr, and by the sudden grin on Lance’s face, knew Blue must have projected her feelings, too.

“Y’know, it’s pretty terrible what happened – with Zarkon ruling the known universe and everything – and I miss Earth a lot – ”

“Really? You sure? Cuz I haven’t heard that.”

“Shut up, mullet.” Lance smacked their shoulders again before his expression grew somber again. “But this is pretty cool, y’know? Chosen to be Defenders of the Universe. Having a large robot lion as your partner – and us. All of us, together. A pride. I mean, we’re now all family, too.”

Keith never had a very good track record with family. After all, the only person whom he ever called family he’d lost for a year, and now he was sitting in Shiro’s seat, in his lion, waiting for his brother to come back to him.

Again. 

Lance must have noticed his worry because the next thing he knew, the Blue Paladin gave his hand a reassuring squeeze. “It’s gonna be okay. I don’t know what happened back home, and what made you annoyingly you – but it’s not just you and Shiro now, y’know? You’ve got us. You both do.”

Keith averted his eyes, if only to stop the smile from perking up his lips. “You say that like it’s a good thing.”

After a brief look of dismay, Lance regrouped, that annoying adorable smile brightening his face. “You love me. You know you do.” 

He did.

“I need him, too,” Keith replied, but he returned Lance’s hold. 

“We all do.” Lance’s infectious grin shifted into a sinister one. “Y’know, you never said what you’d give me for my silence about that garrison debacle.”

Heat rushed to Keith’s cheeks, and he quickly glanced away, suddenly very aware of his and Lance’s joined hands. Lance’s skin was cool, nice against his own warm one, but suddenly, Keith’s palms under his gloves were slick with sweat. Could Lance feel that? Did he think it was gross? Would he—

Lance’s free hand suddenly clasped the side of his cheek and drew Keith close, so close Keith could smell his minty mouthwash and even the pine scent he wore from Earth. He wasn’t sure what to focus on – Lance’s eyes, his nose, his lips – those were some rosy lips. They looked soft, and—as Lance’s eyes slipped closed, Keith allowed his own to do the same. 

Clink!

Keith immediately drew back, hand to his mouth. Lance had smacked their teeth together. 

“You flirt all the time! How haven’t you done this before?”

“Oh, and you have?” Lance fired back. 

No, he actually hadn’t. It wasn’t like Shiro hadn’t tried to play his wingman, but they’d been very few people he had actually had interest in. And those he did, he never knew how to approach. He couldn’t manage to have a normal conversation with some of Shiro’s friends, let alone actually try to engage someone for other activities. 

But Lance had sat with him most of his time in the Black Lion, listening to him – or annoying him. He tried anything – from talking about his family to recounting lessons at the garrison to talking about surfing – and Keith enjoyed listening Lance to prattle. It was soothing, just having him there. And the few brief times Keith actually let his guard down, he began to wonder if maybe Lance wanted to be there, too. 

So he captured Lance’s surprised face between his hands, taking silent pleasure in the slightly younger man’s hitched breath, and cocked his own head to side to fit their lips together. Lance’s felt just like he’d imagined them – perhaps a little wet from licking them after their first attempt – but they were soft and a little warm as they opened slightly to press back against Keith’s. 

After their air dissipated, Keith pulled away, eyes fluttering open as he took in Lance’s stunned face, but Lance’s hand rested upon his lower back, keeping him close. It fisted then in Keith’s black shirt as a dazed but content smile crossed Lance’s face. 

“I think I might need more incentive.”

“I think you might need a cold shower.”

Lance jerked, almost tossing Keith to the ground, but Keith’s hand gripped his shoulders, entwining their bodies even more so. It was an intimate hold, one he hadn’t quite meant to give yet, but he needed to keep grounded in some way. 

And then his world righted completely as he saw Shiro, leaning casually against the cockpit wall, arms and ankles crossed. Shadows still lingered under his eyes, and his smile was tired but good-natured. He looked rather comfortable and relaxed in a simple black shirt over dark sweatpants. 

“Shiro!” 

Keith shot off of Lance, immediately rushing to Shiro, who accepted him naturally, tucking the younger paladin under his chin. He reveled in Shiro’s secure embrace, his brother’s muscular arms protecting Keith from the rest of the universe, even now. Shiro’s breath was even and calm, his heartbeat a reassuring comfort, and even though Keith felt like a little kid, he couldn’t find it in his heart to pull away. 

“It’s okay, kiddo,” Shiro murmured, pressing a tender kiss to the top of Keith’s hair. “I’m here. It’s okay.”

Yes, Keith allowed himself to believe. After the excruciating last few days, hoping and waiting and fearing, everything was all right in Keith’s world again. 

Black rumbled, delighted as well for the return of his paladin, and Shiro dislodged his Galra arm to pet Black’s console. “Yeah, I missed you, too, buddy.”

Lance sounded closer when he spoke, leaning against the back of Shiro’s chair. “Y’know, your lion is one stubborn cat, clawing at Keith and keeping him prisoner here.”

When Keith eventually uncurled from Shiro’s embrace, he refused to let go completely, keeping an arm wrapped about Shiro’s waist while Shiro held him close by the shoulders. He continued to pet his lion. “He doesn’t want to see me hurt again, so I really can’t fault him for that. And he wanted to protect Keith and help him through the last few days because Black knew I would be worried about him.” What was with that smug smile on Shiro’s face? Keith didn’t like it at all. “But I guess I didn’t have anything to worry about.”

An immediate blush bloomed upon Lance’s features, and Shiro laughed, reaching forward to draw Lance into a quick hug. “How are you holding up, huh? You okay?”

Lance let out a tiny shiver, showing for only a moment the fear he hid from Keith during their time waiting. It made the Red Paladin realize just how much they all depended upon Shiro. 

Lance was right. They were a family now – all of them – and Keith could only imagine what it must have been like when Shiro exited the pod and was ambushed by Pidge, Hunk, Coran, and Allura. 

Eventually, Lance let go of Shiro, but he struggled to do so, fist still holding onto Shiro’s shirt. Shiro indulged him with a smile and gathered Keith under his opposite arm. “Come on, you two. I heard Hunk is cooking, and I’m sure we could all use some good—”

Black growled and snapped shut his mouth, lifting his head too high for the paladins to leave. 

Shiro smiled sheepishly. “Okay, maybe we should eat in.”

“I’ll get Hunk and the others,” Lance volunteered, reluctantly loosening his grip on Shiro. “I’m sure they’ll want us to eat together.”

“Thanks, Lance.” 

Black let Lance out, but Keith remained plastered against Shiro’s side, still grateful to just feel his brother’s warmth. They eventually headed toward the pilot seat, and Shiro reclaimed his chair, much to Black’s delight. Black purred and settled back down next to his complete pride, and Keith pushed back on the console, basking in Black’s warmth and content just to be near Shiro. 

He ducked his head and fidgeted with his gloves. “Shiro, I’m – I’m sorry. It was my – ”

“Don’t,” Shiro cut him off with a sharp, reproachful time. His eyes were hard, face unforgiving. “You did your best. That is nothing to apologize for.”

“But – But I missed, and that monster – ”

“ –we’ll get him next time.” Shiro rubbed his palms along the chair’s arms. “Keith, how many times have you saved me when I have flashbacks? Or any other time? That’s what a family does.” He reached forward to clasp Keith’s knee. “We save each other.”

Keith closed his wet eyes and just savored being in Shiro’s calming presence again, until –

“So…you and Lance, huh?” Shiro settled back for what appeared to be a long discussion. “I think we’re long overdue for a specific chat about birds and bees and humans.”

Keith gulped and muttered, strained, “We’re just friends…?”

Shiro, of course, didn’t buy it, and Black, the stubborn cat, refused to let Keith out or the Paladins in until Shiro was done with his speech. 

Keith couldn’t look Lance in the eye during dinner – or for days, but that was all right. They just made out with their eyes closed. 

_The End_


	10. Year Five - Blood Brothers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is set after episode 10 "Crystal Venom." Could be seen as AU, but please see the end notes for my take on Keith going forward. 
> 
> Also, there's no doubt that this chapter should be the last in the story, but seeing as I have no other stories written at this time - I'm working on a multi-chapter fic that takes place during Shiro's year with the Galra that includes snippets of his and Keith's relationship - I figured I'd post this now and continue with short stories as they pop up in my mind. Thanks!

Keith heard the panic in Shiro’s voice, and that shocked him the most. In the five years he’d known Takashi Shirogane, the legendary cadet of the Galaxy Garrison, he’d never heard Shiro sound so frightened, so desperate. 

_I had to get him out of here. I was hearing his voice. He can’t be trusted on the ship._

They were all unhinged by the ship’s attacks, but the attack upon Shiro had been worst. The rest of them had been threatened by robots and zero gravity and cryo-pods – and okay, maybe Allura being lured by her “father” to the send the ship into a collapsing star won as most traumatic incident of the entire ordeal – but Shiro had been tormented by one of his former captors. And though Keith wasn’t sure what Sendak said to Shiro, it obviously shook his older brother to the core. 

If Keith was honest with himself, it scared him. He hadn’t been able to talk to Shiro for any extended period of time since his brother crash-landed in the desert. Shiro had been out of it, and then they had been looking for the Blue Lion. Afterwards, they each found their lions and formed Voltron, followed by the fall of the Castle of Lions, the rebirth of the Balmera, and now – Sendak’s crystal.

Oh, yeah, Pidge also said something about Sendak torturing Shiro while he was in control of their ship, which just made Keith want to tear Sendak’s head from his body. He’d asked Shiro about it when they sat waiting for Lance to emerge from the cyro-pod, but Shiro just flashed him that gentle smile that covered his own pain and said it had been nothing compared to what Lance endured that day. And it had been nothing compared to what he’d gone through as a prisoner of the Galra. 

But what had he been through? 

Keith didn’t want to hurt his brother by asking, especially since Shiro’s mind seemed to suppress a majority of what he’d suffered at the hands of the Galra, but Shiro couldn’t continue to take everything on by himself. He’d eventually break – if his desperation that day had been any indication – and more than that, Keith didn’t want him to. 

Shiro had always been there for him and helped him throughout whatever he was battling – mentally, emotionally, and physically. He wanted to return the favor, even if it was just this once. 

Keith knocked on Shiro’s quarters and waited to hear the “come in” his brother usually yelled, but nothing came. No greeting or shout. Perhaps he was still with Allura, helping her through the pain of losing her father a second time?

Keith knocked again, just to make sure, and then he heard something. He wasn’t sure what, but it certainly wasn’t welcoming. He palmed his way into Shiro’s room – Shiro never locked the door for his teammates – and entered the sleek, minimalist quarters, seeing his brother’s uniform abandoned on the bed, boots thrown haphazardly in the corner. That was odd. Shiro always kept his things in perfect order. 

Unless he had to run into the bathroom and wretch – or so Keith guessed from the sickening sounds he heard coming from that direction.

“Shiro?” Keith called, dashing forward. He clasped the doorway and swung inside the bathroom, where he saw Shiro on his knees, dressed in lose sweats and a T-shirt, throwing up the green stuff Coran fed them for lunch. If possible, it actually looked worse coming back up.

With his back to the doorway, Shiro couldn’t see him, which allowed Keith to dampen a towel and lay it across his brother’s clammy neck. Shiro started, swiping with his Galra fist, but he stopped when he noticed Keith. He took the dry towel Keith offered and then collapsed against the wall next to the toilet, wiping his pale and languid face. 

“You all right?” Keith ventured, crouching low in front of his brother. 

Shiro sighed, and whatever weakness he showed disappeared as the barriers rose again. His face steeled in that leader countenance he did so well, the one Keith both admired and hated. “Yeah. I guess Coran’s cooking wasn’t as good as we all –”

It came out harsher than he’d wanted, or maybe Keith just too pissed to rein in his anger. “I’m not the team.”

Shiro blinked, taken back by the sharp edge in Keith’s tone, before he relaxed. “Keith, it’s not what you think. I just – I’m not feeling well. I’m sure the day’s taken a toll on everyone.”

“It’s not the same.” Keith fell cross-legged to the floor, hands open to plea. “Sendak really messed you up, huh?”

That damned fake smile returned. “Nothing I can’t handle. He just shook me up a bit, but I’m really –”

“You’re not. I’ve…” Keith glanced away; his voice trailed after. “…I’ve never heard you like that before.”

The awkward silence enveloped them both, and Keith chanced a peek from under his bangs to see Shiro close his eyes and tip his head back against the tiles. For the longest time, silence engulfed their words, highlighting Shiro’s haphazard breathing, but eventually, Shiro’s human hand reached out to clutch Keith’s knee, ever firm, like he’d finally been able to suppress his chaotic emotions. 

“I’m sorry if I scared you, but I had it in control.”

“Did you really?” Keith persisted, hand falling to his brother’s. “Because it’s all right if you didn’t. You’re allowed to be human, y’know. You don’t have to perfect all the time, Shiro.”

Shiro blinked then, looking bewildered and even bitter – like he didn’t appreciate Keith calling him out on his lie – but he didn’t meet Keith’s questioning gaze again. He seemed to retreat within himself, either for strength or acceptance, and Keith took solace in the subtle rise and fall of Shiro’s chest. 

Then, Keith got up, only to lean against the wall and side down to be even with Shiro. It amazed him that Shiro still had a good six inches and now fifty pounds on him, though most of that came from his intense training for the Galra arena – or so Keith assumed. Unless…Keith didn’t like to think of what the Druids might have done to his brother. 

When Shiro still didn’t open his eyes, Keith found his brother’s Galra hand and folded their fingers together. Shiro squeezed back but said nothing. 

“It’s okay,” Keith soothed, quiet and tentative. “You don’t have to be strong around me, Shiro.”

“But you are still my little brother, and –”

“That means I know you eat French fries with mayonnaise,” Keith teased. “So I already know you’re not perfect.” 

“Like you’re one to talk. You have a mullet.”

“I rock a mullet. There’s a difference.”

“Keep telling yourself that.” Shiro’s quick laugh drifted into a heavy sigh, and he focused on some point out of range. “You don’t know what I’ve seen, Keith. None of you do, and – and maybe that’s for the best.”

“For who?” Keith demanded. “For us or you?”

Shiro inhaled a shivering breath. “I like to pretend none of you will eventually break out into cold sweats at night or feel the intense fear of a flashback in the middle of a battle, and – and if I tell you, then –”

“Then we’ll know what we’re dealing with instead of pretending that the universe isn’t completely enslaved and we’re nothing more than a minor annoyance to a god-like figure.”

Usually Keith’s sarcasm would bring a soft smile to Shiro’s face. Instead, a dark scowl crept onto his brother’s features.

“Shiro, come on. It isn’t that bad…” _…unless it is._

“Keith…” Shiro began, raw and exhausted, “the Galra Empire has been around for more than ten thousand years. It infects peaceful planets and continues its vicious strain of misery and devastation. How many lives has it destroyed? How many people has it enslaved? How many people has it impressed into its ranks?”

“Shiro…”

“Sendak called me a monster, Keith,” Shiro whispered, voice strangled. “What does he know that I don’t? What have I done – _for them?_ ”

“I don’t care,” Keith spouted, not even blinking when Shiro finally met his earnest gaze, shaken. “ _I don’t care._ You came home. That’s all that matters.”

“But what if I killed people?” Shiro’s hands shook. “People like Matt, people who didn’t want to be there and were innocent.”

“Like you.”

“That’s different –” 

“How? You didn’t want to be there, either. They took you and forced you into that arena. You did what you had to, to survive.”

Shiro scowled away. “That doesn’t make me feel better.”

Keith wet his lips and spoke slowly, sincerely. “Then maybe this will. You had to do what you did to be here. And I’m grateful, Shiro.”

“Keith –”

“Shut up!” How could get Shiro to understand? His fists trembled on his thighs as he wanted to simultaneously punch and hug his brother. “I can’t – I can’t lose you, and I thought I had. And I guess I should care what you did because you do, but I don’t. And if you hadn’t done the things you did, then maybe you might not have come home, but _you did._ ”

Shiro’s thumb brushed across Keith’s heated cheek, wiping away his sudden tears, and its cool sensation soothed the younger pilot. Keith never flinched when Shiro’s Galra hand touched him, accepting the metal appendage as a part of his brother – he ignored the irony of its and his lion’s placement in Voltron–and reached out to cradle the foreign palm between both of his. 

“Without you, we wouldn’t be able to form Voltron. You _are_ the Black Paladin, our leader, and our brother. You are the strongest person I know, and I don’t care what some sociopath with a monocle says. You are the farthest thing from a monster.”

With a sad, broken smile, Shiro raised his metal arm and tightened the hand into a fist. “…how did I get this, Keith? Did I lose in the arena, or…or did they take my arm from me?”

Keith suddenly felt queasy. He hadn’t even thought of that. 

“What about my body? You know I wasn’t this built before. Did I have to buff up to survive the arena, or did they change my make-up?” Tears infiltrated his brother’s voice, and Keith glanced up to see Shiro’s tortured grimace that somehow doubled as a solemn plea. “Keith, am I even human anymore?”

Keith’s mouth went dry, but instead of the fear he thought he should feel, angry burned white hot in his belly. “Shiro, what the hell? Of course you’re still human! God, how can you even think that?”

“Sendak said the Galra broke me and remade me.”

“That’s bullshit!”

“Keith, you see what I can do now. You see how I fight.”

“You were always insanely better than anyone else.”

“But not like this – not…” Shiro’s shoulder slumped, like he melted of any fight. His voice sounded strangled. “Sendak said that I can’t fight the Galra because they’ve already defeated me.”

If Keith was angry before, there wasn’t a word for what he felt at this moment. “ _And you believe him!_ ”

Shiro raised his metal hand in wordless reply, but it was more than that. Shiro’s front lock was now pure white. A scar sliced across his face, and untold torture created a story of misery and pain across his chest and back. 

Keith’s shoulders huffed as he glared at Shiro, who still refused to meet his gaze. His brother just stared off into space – or perhaps he was trapped in a prison he still hadn’t escaped. All this time – even though it had been Shiro who led them to form Voltron, even though Shiro fought and endured injury after injury to protect them, even though Shiro stayed to interrogate Sendak when no one else would – Shiro feared the fight to be futile. 

But he didn’t believe it was. He couldn’t. 

“Then why did you escape? Why did you come to Earth and search for the lions? Why do you lead us if you believe it’s impossible to defeat Zarkon? Hell, why did you even survive the arena? Why didn’t you just give up if you believe the fight hopeless?”

“Because I couldn’t,” Shiro admitted, low and true. “Because I knew you were on Earth. I had to get back to you.”

Keith warmed at the thought. “Then why do you fight now?”

Shiro met his demanding gaze with a menacing glower. “Because...they must be stopped. I can’t stand back and do nothing.”

“Even if we have no chance to win?”

“It’s not about having a chance,” Shiro rebuked, squeezing Keith’s hands in his Galra one. “We don’t have a choice. The universe is counting on us. We have to win.”

“They didn’t defeat you,” Keith replied, smiling through his tears. “They couldn’t, and if you ever think they did, I’ll remind you. You are stronger than them, Shiro. You survived all the Galra put you through and are still willing to fight them. That’s anything but defeat.”

Shiro studied him with an intense frown, as if trying to find fault in his argument but couldn’t. Then, his body deflated with a loud sigh, and he flexed his good hand. “What if Haggar did something to me? What if she made me part of the Galra Empire –”

“Like me?”

Shiro’s eyes shot wide at the inference – Keith never spoke about his heritage unless prompted and Shiro never prompted. But Keith would do anything for Shiro, even confront his troubled past. 

“I’m a part of the empire and fight against it,” Keith continued in a restrained scream. “Does that make me part of the enemy, too?”

Shiro paused, obviously stricken by the implication, and shook his head. “Of course not. You’re not one of them, Keith, no matter what your genetic make-up says.”

“But you are?”

“They made me to be their weapon – ”

“How were you top of your class?” Keith chastised with a biting albeit tearful smile, slowly taking off his gloves. “Seriously. Sometimes, you can be so…perverse.”

“You’re so perverse.”

Shiro flashed his first natural smile in what seemed like forever, even if it was tired and sad, but Keith treasured it just the same. Then, he steeled his frayed nerves and reached behind his back. There was only one way Shiro would relax and finally accept himself for whom he was now – if he had to accept Keith as that, too. 

Keith had heard the term before, and in school, Commander Iverson had even called him and Shiro such. Keith never took it literally, instead choosing to revel in the implied connection, but literal was what Shiro needed right now. 

Blood brothers. 

Perhaps this was impulsive and scientifically unsound, but Keith took Shiro’s human hand in his own, rotating the palm upward. 

Shiro didn’t struggle but asked, “Kid, what are you – ?”

“Do you trust me?” 

“With my life.”

“Then shut up.”

Shiro listened, even though he bit his lip when Keith sliced the top of his layer of his palm. Dark crimson immediately welled in the new wound, and Keith then sliced his own hand, hissing at the sudden pain. Once a good amount of blood slipped across his palm, Keith overturned his hand and placed it directly on top of Shiro’s open gash. 

“I guess if what Sendak said was true, then we’re both weapons for the Galra now.”

And true blood brothers. 

Keith waited for the scolding words that were sure to come – what had he been thinking, how could he put himself in jeopardy like that, didn’t he know what sort of dangers open wounds in the middle of space carried?

Instead, Shiro’s hand cradled his, their blood mixing and dripping from the clasped palms. “God, kid, you have no idea how much I missed you.”

Keith dove into Shiro’s arms then, burying his face in Shiro’s shoulder and reveling in the strong, warm hold that engulfed him. He remembered a time, not too long ago, when he’d feared he’d never be able to feel this warmth again – and he thanked any and all higher power that would listen to him for Shiro’s incredible strength. 

Sendak was wrong. There was no greater hero in the universe than his brother. Voltron was the greatest weapon because it had the greatest Paladin and leader. 

That simple thought only made Keith cling to Shiro tighter. “Back at you,” he whispered.

They stayed that way, comforted by the simple proof of each other’s existence, until Shiro groaned, “Did you have to cut so deep? Geez…”

Keith pushed off his brother’s shoulder to shake his own hand. “I was trying to prove a point.”

“Could you have maybe thought of a way that didn’t involve slicing open my only human hand?”

“Or maybe you could just suck it—” Keith stopped short, hissing when Shiro slapped his bleeding hand. “—Ouch! Shiro! Great. Now I’m going to have to listen to Coran lecture me about the dangers of knives.”

“You? What about me? He’s somehow going to blame me for this.”

“No, he’s not. I sliced open your hand—”

“—and the Champion of the Galra could not stop his brother – eight years his junior – from harming him with a glorified butter knife?” Coran demanded a few minutes later with a furled eyebrow. 

Shiro sighed and rolled his eyes. “See? I told you.”

From the infirmary’s medical bed, Keith cringed when Coran doused the wound with healing salve and bubbles spilled over his palm. 

“Well, it’s too deep.” Coran frowned. “We’ll have to put you boys in cyro-pods for a few minutes to stop the bleeding and prevent scarring.”

Shiro studied his split and angered flesh– he’d insisted Coran look at Keith’s wound first – with almost obsessive intensity before clenching his hand into a fist. “No.”

“Pardon?” 

Shiro’s smile radiated as he leaned against the bed, bumping his shoulder against Keith’s. “This scar – I’d like to keep.”

Keith closed his own palm, allowing the pain to hurt. After losing Shiro and finding him again, Keith wanted to feel the pain and his brother’s warmth, and revel in them, using them as tangible proof that this moment was real.

He mirrored Shiro’s smile. “Me, too.”

And then Coran slapped both of their harmed hands, causing them to cry out. “Allow me to be the adult here and do not, under any circumstances, harm each other like this again – or I will not offer to put you in a cyro-pod. I will let you suffer. Do I make myself clear, young paladins?”

And they thought the Galra were scary.

_The End_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I blame this post for making me all-in with Galra!Keith: http://ptw30.tumblr.com/post/151213310104/vldlancelove-so-im-watching-voltron-with-my


	11. The Greatest Gift

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: I wrote this entire thing on my phone while waiting on lines at the mall. So possible typos and spontaneous holiday cheer.

Life with Shiro was bright and warm and...joyous, Keith could admit, if only to himself. Where holidays used to be spent in a cold, dark bunk of a group home in South Korea, Keith found himself almost blinded by the twinkling, colored lights on a desert willow and the unabashed, beaming smile of his - well, he wasn't quite sure how to categorize Shiro. "Friend" was too casual, and anything more familiar was wishful thinking. 

After the first Christmas, Keith feared to want more, so he didn't ask for it. He didn't allow himself to hope, but then Shiro ruffled his hair in the middle of the hallway of the Science Building, springing on him without warning, "So I figured we'd head out to the cabin after my last class on the 22nd. Sound good?"

Yes, it did. 

The third Christmas unnerved Keith the most, however, when a few cadets in his class started discussing their holiday plans. 

"Hey, Keith. What're you doing for the break?" a big cadet with a yellow headband and an eager expression asked.

The annoying cargo pilot - Spear? - scoffed. "Please. Mullet here is just going to train, train, train, train, train!"

"Actually, I'm heading out to the cabin with Shiro. We're going to spend the week there."

The words came easily and naturally, like it was a holiday tradition, like he and Shiro had been spending Christmas forever rather than only a couple years. But then he realized - they hadn't discussed it. They would be - or should be - heading out after his last exam since Shiro's last class was earlier in the day, but Shiro hadn't even mentioned it.

Did he have other plans? He must have. Shiro was the garrison's golden boy and its most eligible bachelor. Keith was lucky to get two holidays with his...friend.

Locking away his disappointment - it was stupid! He shouldn't have assumed Shiro would want to spend Christmas with him for a third year - Keith tried not to remember the dark and lonely Christmases in South Korea. But that was his life, and his brief time with Shiro had only been a reprieve.

So he'd get a few of things from Shiro's place and then see if Iverson would let him stay in his quarters for the week while the commander, himself, went back to New York.

That sounded like a good plan - until a pair of jeans smacked him in the face the moment he stepped into Shiro's apartment. 

"Come on, kiddo! Let's get going. I already shopped for the food, so we can just head out."

Shiro's smile was warm and fond, and he looked so relaxed and merry, wearing a black undershirt over jeans, his usual black and red jacket, and a Santa hat.

Keith immediately felt warmer and calmer, just in Shiro's presence, even though Shiro's smile dropped a tad.

"Something wrong?"

Keith blinked and hated the words that spilled from his mouth, "We're spending Christmas together?"

Suddenly Shiro's eyes hardened, and his smile disappeared completely. "You...You don't want to?"

"You didn't say anything."

"I didn't think I needed to...?" But Shiro quickly glanced down at the two duffles on the couch - one for Shiro and one Shiro packed for Keith. "Sorry. I - uh - I didn't realize - I just thought that you'd - that we - "

"No!" Keith jerked, stepping forward and letting his bookbag fall from his shoulder. "I mean, yeah. I want to. I just - I just didn't think you...wanted to."

"Of course I do." Shiro's smile flashed again, a little forced this time but still jovial. "I - I thought we were a thing, y'know? You and me. Permanent. I - I don't know about you, but..." And his cheeks flushed with a pink tinge. "...I think of you as my little brother."

Brother. That was something Keith feared to think, feared to let himself accept, because that meant he wasn't alone. That meant he had a family, and Keith feared that most of all. He didn't want to think that he could lose this _thing_ , lose this warmth he cherished so much, and he didn't think he could deal with that. 

But even worse than that, he couldn't walk away from this warmth, from Shiro. He craved Shiro's gentle grin and endless support, and he wanted a brother more than anything in the world. 

No. He _had_ one, and it was the greatest gift he'd ever received.

Shiro's grin grew more tender, and he lifted a duffle over each shoulder. "Come on, kiddo. Let's head out."

That Christmas, Keith received his speeder, and he whirled toward Shiro, an incredulous tone in his voice. "Why would you do this? We don't do presents." He said softer, ashamed, "I didn't get you anything."

"You never have to," Shiro assured, ever present hand upon his shoulder. "I already got my gift."

Keith didn't understand, but Shiro's shimmering smile was comforting and kind. So he let the matter drop and forgot about it all together as he and Shiro zipped through the desert canyons, using the festive and bright desert willow as a finish line.

But the traditions with Shiro ended there, cut short by the soul-wrenching heartache that followed.

The fourth Christmas reminded Keith of his youth, when he was alone and angry and cold. Shiro was missing and presumed dead, and Keith - Keith wanted only one thing for Christmas that year. 

He got it eight months later.

Their fifth Christmas together, Shiro and Keith were in space, and Lance and Hunk sprung the holiday on them. There were lights strung about their common room, a tree taken from a nearby planet, ornaments made from savaged parts, garland crafted out of different types of hardened goo, and lit and unlit candles.

Somehow, Lance and Hunk had managed to find gifts and even wrapping paper - or was that Coran's doing? It mattered little, only that holiday cheer was alive in the castle.

"Nothing for you guys?" Hunk asked, motioning toward the gift pile under the makeshift tree.

Keith glanced toward his brother - his obviously traumatized, scarred, but very much alive older brother - and shook his head.

"I'm good, thanks."

Shiro beamed, and Keith basked in the warmth once more. "Me, too."

They both already had their presents.

The End

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So...sorta an AU of an AU...first for me...hope you enjoyed. HAPPY HOLIDAYS!


	12. Year Ten - Homecoming

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Year Ten - As Shiro and Keith wait to meet the McClains, they recount their relationship, from the simulator deck at the garrison to the shores of Varadero Beach.
> 
> Some scenes referenced in this chapter come from [“The Final Act of Mercy,”](http://archiveofourown.org/works/8621365/chapters/19768696) but you don’t need to read it to enjoy this. Thanks!

“You should go purple.”

“I am _not_ going purple,” Keith hissed, raking his fingers through his hair in a frustrated manner. 

“Why not? Keith, show them who you are rather than hiding behind – ”

“I’m not hiding! It’s just…It’s bad enough that I have to introduce the McClains to my furry father, my mentor in the Blades who won’t go anywhere without his hood, Sendak who is practically that uncle you tell kids to stay away from, my great aunt Allura, who has ears like an elf – and let’s not forget you.”

Shiro blinked, sitting straighter on the bench. “What about me?”

“Ignoring the scar across your face and the alien right arm,” which was now white and silver with the blue accents of Altean tech, “you’re also married to my great aunt. You’re practically my uncle and brother. Oh, quiznak. My side of the family is the space equivalent of the Beverly Hillbillies.” 

Shiro did not want to know which one he was. 

Letting out an exasperated sigh, Keith resumed his prowl, trudging back and forth on the edge of the warm water that slithered up onto the golden beach. Dressed in comfortable swimming trunks and a red T-shirt that stretched over his muscles, with his short mullet tied back in a ruffled tail, Keith once more reminded Shiro that he was no longer the scrawny thirteen year old who hated the world from underneath a curtain of too-long black hair and sported a chip infinitely bigger than his shoulder could carry. The last decade matured Keith into a practical and compassionate individual, able to care and love with all his heart, even if he kept it sheltered and safe within the hands of a select few. He certainly carried a level head and grew into a capable and confident second-in-command of the Paladins of Voltron, but that short fuse still burned pretty quickly.

So Shiro did what he did best, what every leader did best – damage control. “Don’t you think you’re blowing this a little out of proportion?”

Keith stopped dead in his tracks and pinned Shiro with a dark scowl. “How would you feel if your son returned after more than seven years in space and brought home a furry purple alien whom he’s been dating for the last three?”

“I would assume it’s no different than finding out your own little brother is a furry purple alien after knowing him for two years, but then again, who am I to judge?”

That sizzled the flames of Keith’s anger. 

“Not to mention,” Shiro continued in a soothing tone, “my little brother never actually told me he was an alien. He just relaxed enough in my presence to show me. At least Lance will be introducing you as such.” 

Right on cue, Keith’s head drooped, and Shiro could just imagine his adorable ears following suit. Keith struggled for the words, obviously searching for an adequate apology, and like a forgiving older brother, Shiro let him off the hook. He reached out, warm metal fingers circling Keith’s wrist and gentling tugging him onto the bench.

“Hey, I’m not mad. Really. I might have been a little hurt when I first found out, but that was years ago. And I understand you being afraid to tell me. You hadn’t told anyone, and you worried how I would take it. It made sense, Keith.”

Keith sighed, burying his face in his trembling hands. “But you are not the McClains. You’re – You’re different. You always have been.”

Shiro couldn’t keep the indulgent tone from his voice. “I’ll take that as a compliant.”

Keith’s bitter glare held no heat. “You know what it is. But the McClains – they never asked for this. Lance told me how proud they were of him when he got into the garrison, but they never thought he’d be gone so long. I mean, Shiro – they’re _normal_ people.”

“And just what are you?”

Keith flinched as if hit, then averting his eyes with a crestfallen expression. “I’m a purple alien who came from two warring nations and was chosen to pilot one of five legendary warships that’s shaped like a cat. Oh, and I joined a mysterious society that worked ten thousand years to destroy Zarkon’s reign.”

Shiro shrugged a shoulder. “That sounds more normal to me than Lance’s family.”

“Shiro – ”

Shiro sighed and wrapped a comforting arm around Keith, unnerved by the wire-strung tension in his little brother’s shoulders. “Hey. Seriously. It’s going to be okay. The McClains are going to love you.”

“Sure, _you_ can say that,” Keith snorted, gloved hands twisting in his lap. “Everyone automatically falls in love with you.”

“Weren’t you just tell me how my scar and arm – ” 

“Yeah, but then you open your mouth and charm them all.”

What the hell? “I don’t charm any – ”

Keith pinned Shiro with a stern glower. “Oh, please. Don’t give me that. It’s me, Shiro. I know all your tricks.”

Okay, so maybe Shiro knew his way around a diplomatic conversation, and his smooth facial features and deep voice didn’t hurt the cause. And yeah, he sported sculpted muscles and a taut body even before Haggar gave him all those physical… _improvements._

“I don’t have any of that,” Keith continued, still forlorn. “I-I guess Lance likes what he sees, y’know? Or at least, that’s what he says, but I-I just can’t – I’m not good with all the rest, Shiro. I –” 

“— might have helped save the universe no less than five hundred times in the last seven years or so.” Shiro tightened his hold, tucking Keith under his arm. “And you love Lance. His family will love you just because of that.”

They sat in comfortable silence, the calming rhythm of the ocean waves lulling them to relative peace. The endless horizon glowed in the rays of the dying sun, and the shimmering stars glistened in the cool palate of night. No matter how many planets they visited or how many sunsets they saw, Shiro never saw one quite as spectacular as those on Earth. 

There was just something special about being _home,_ but as Shiro found himself on the receiving end of a searching gaze, he was reminded again that home wasn’t necessarily Earth. 

“There were times I never thought we’d see this place again,” Keith murmured, elbows resting upon his thighs. “I always wanted to, y’know, but sometimes – the mission…”

That was true. The tireless clashes, the seemingly never-ending string of battles, the Galra’s relentless determination for death and destruction – perhaps the only thing more stubborn than Zarkon himself were the Paladins of the Voltron. 

Shiro rubbed Keith’s back warmly, following his gaze toward the darkening heavens. “Hm. When I was a cadet at the garrison, all I wanted to do was go into space. See everything, explore.”

“Fly.”

“That, too,” Shiro laughed. He was a pilot first and foremost and loved every second of being behind the controls of a ship. His eyes fell to his metal hand along Keith’s shoulder, bringing it back into his lap and flexing the shimmering fingers. “I always knew there was something out there, calling to me. I just…didn’t think it a large black cat.”

Keith’s genuine laughter was a gift as was his blistering warmth against Shiro’s side. “I didn’t see that coming, either.”

“There was a lot that we never could have imagined.”

The Galra. The Alteans. Their lions. Their powers as the guardian spirits of the elements. Matt and his Druid-ness. The Blades of the Marmora. The Rebels of Pollux. Lotor. 

Each other. 

“I still can’t believe you got laid in space,” Keith chuckled, and Shiro felt no remorse about slapping him upside the head. “Millions of miles away from home, and you still managed to score. How is that possible?” 

“Hey, I got _married_ in space,” Shiro reminded, wiggling his ring finger, complete with said shimmering merchandise, in front of his little brother’s face. “You were the one who got laid in space.”

Shiro enjoyed the fierce blush that spread across Keith’s cheeks and down his neck – he was so much fun to tease – but then Keith ducked his head, studying his still gloved hands with a serious countenance. “Do you ever regret it, Shiro?”

Shiro blinked, taken back. “Regret what?”

Keith shrugged, fidgeting with the edge of his gloves. “I kinda wonder sometimes, y’know? Like if you didn’t go to Kerberos, or the Galra hadn’t attacked your crew. Or if they hadn’t taken your arm – we would never have went into space. We would never have formed Voltron and fought the Galra. I – I might not have found my dad or the Blades, and you – ”

“ – would never have met Allura,” Shiro replied, once more appealing to the rapidly darkening sky. The words refused to come, and Shiro didn’t chase them. 

The events of his year as a Galra prisoner replayed in his mind, sending a fierce shiver through his body. He must have spaced out or something – that happened every so often – because the next thing he knew, Keith was lacing their fingers together in a silent apology. 

Shiro eventually found his voice, though it came out raw and broken. “I-I don’t know. I think about that a lot, actually, especially when I wake up and see Allura lying next to me.” God, that was a sight he would never tire of, and her scent – so fresh and flowery. He relaxed completely in her arms, her curly hair tumbling about his cheeks with reassuring caresses. “I can’t imagine my life any other way. Besides, I’m – I’m not sure we ever had a choice in the matter. I’d like to believe in free will, but – I think all this had to be more than just coincidence. I almost have to believe it was fate.”

Keith nodded, eyes hazy with his own wondrous thoughts, and Shiro couldn’t help but ruffle his hair. “It really doesn’t matter, Keith. It happened, and – and I am glad it did. Maybe not the time I was tortured by the Galra – ”

“ – or gutted by Haggar –”

“ – that too – ”

“ – or locked in the astral plane for almost a year – ”

“ – yes, well, thank you for bringing that – ”

“ – or when Lotor challenged you to duel for Allura’s hand, and then she – ”

Shiro slapped his human hand over his brother’s mouth, effectively stopping his ramblings. “Yes, I get it. Thank you for the thorough recollection.”

When Shiro released him, Keith’s eyes shimmered with a feral glint of a rabid cat, but that wasn’t what worried Shiro. “So what brought all this on, kiddo?”

Holding his anger for a few seconds longer, Keith finally surrendered with a loud sigh. “It’s just…Lance and I never really got along in the garrison. What if – What if we’d never formed Voltron? What if the Red Lion would have picked someone else? What would – would we still have, y’know, gotten together? But it’s like you said,” he added quickly, shaking his head. “It doesn’t matter because it happened. And we’re here now.”

Shiro clutched Keith’s hand again, and it was like the anchor to reality he desperately needed. His eyes drifted to the pier not too far away and a tiny house above it – a pizza shack – where music played and tacky Christmas lights hung from the gutters and railings. 

“Y’know what scares me the most?” he murmured, the gentle ocean breeze all but swallowing his words. “Not ever forming Voltron or finding the Black Lion or even marrying Allura. When I think about when my life began – it was when I met you, kiddo.” 

Keith’s eyes shot up with such intense emotion that Shiro felt their heat. He ignored the warmth of his own cheeks to continue. “You were my family first, Keith. I-I know I wouldn’t have survived the Galra’s torture if not for you, and – and everything that came after. You always kept me grounded. You always supported me. Even before the Galra – you were always there for me. After break-ups. After exams. During mission training when things got rough – you met me afterwards or brought me meals during exercises. I-I don’t think I ever thanked you for that.”

“That’s nothing to thank someone for, Shiro,” Keith assured, hand tightening. “That’s what family does.”

Yes, it was. Their family grew to include the Paladins, the Alteans, others as well. He fell in love with Allura, looked out for Pidge, encouraged Lance, cooked with Hunk. He learned about the ways of the universe with Matt and helped Coran with maintenance on the ship. He wouldn’t deny that he even came to see Sendak as a quasi-parental figure, someone he could go to for advice and who would listen to his troubles with (little) judgment. 

Thace and Kolivan, too, and so many others – and throughout it all, there had always been Keith, standing next to him, ready to take on the universe just because Shiro was. 

Perhaps that was what maimed Shiro the most. Throughout it all, he always knew he never had to go through it alone, but Keith – God, Keith had that lonely year after Kerberos and then there was another period of time, right after their first major blow to Zarkon. The team hadn’t known if Shiro was alive or dead. 

If it had been reversed, Shiro wouldn’t have been able to function, and from what Allura and Lance told him later, Keith barely managed. In fact, the only thing that kept Keith going was the hope that somewhere, somehow, Shiro was still alive and could be saved. 

He had been right. Without Keith pushing so hard to find him – Shiro shuttered to think what might have happened to him in the astral plane. 

“Thank you,” he finally said, but Keith punched him, actually punched him on the arm. “Ow!”

“Stop that,” Keith chastised, left fingers still threaded with Shiro’s metal ones. “I told you. You don’t thank people for that.” He grew quiet then, eyes running over the now darkened sky. “Without you – my life would have been different. I – I don’t know what would have happened, but – Shiro, you adopted me.”

Shiro’s eyes blew wide. “Y-You found out about that?”

“You were gone for a whole year! Of course I found out about that.” Hands trembling in tight fists, Keith looked like he was willing to take another shot at Shiro. “What were you thinking?”

“That I wanted to keep you safe.” Closing his eyes, he could imagine the prickly Keith, all mad and huffing at him for wanting to talk about contingency plans. “I wanted to be there for you, even if I couldn’t physically be with you.”

“I didn’t want the damn money, Shiro! I just wanted you back!”

“Yeah, but if I couldn’t come back, I wanted to make sure you would be okay.”

“I wouldn’t have been okay.” 

Shiro wasn’t surprised by the shimmering tears that suddenly stained tracks down Keith’s face. 

“I _wasn’t_ okay.”

Shiro knew that. He drew his little brother close, his arms wrapping tightly about Keith’s shoulders in a reaffirming hold. It allowed Keith to rest his head in the cleft of his chest and hide his tears in Shiro’s shirt. They never truly talked about it, even after all these years, but Shiro knew the truth – Keith had been expelled because of him in some way. Shiro went through the physical manifestation of hell, but Keith went through something far worse – the manifestation of his worst fears. 

“I’m sorry, Keith.”

“I missed you so much,” he choked, and Shiro’s heart ached something fierce and terrible. “A-And one of my professors, he said – he said you’d…the way you… _went_ …”

Through the sobs and hiccups, Shiro only caught bits and pieces of the actual event, but Shiro heard enough. His hands tensed in Keith’s shirt. His eyes set on a point on the horizon, and anger ripped through his veins as if he fought against Zarkon himself again. 

To say such terrible things to a teenager, to his own little brother…and they were lies. Eight years later, the pain remained, sharp and fierce, and Shiro wasn’t sure how to alleviate it. Perhaps he never could, but Shiro took solace that during the worst moments of his life, Keith hadn’t been completely alone. 

“It must have been difficult,” Shiro murmured, lips pressing against the soft strands of Keith’s temple, “and I’m glad Blue was there with you, even if you didn’t know it at the time.”

It played well into the belief of fate – how Blue led her future paladin’s lover to her hiding spot and kept him company during Shiro’s missing year. Black stepped up the second time, welcoming Keith into his cockpit for comfort and strength – even if a jealous Red wouldn’t accept another pilot. 

Keith snorted but refused to lift his head just yet, clutching fingers ensnarling the front of Shiro’s shirt, face pressed against Shiro’s shoulder as if to hide from the world and his own pain. It took long moments, scalding hot tears seeping through the cloth, but eventually Keith relaxed, going limp and heavy in Shiro’s arms. Shiro sighed and just held on. He’d do so for as long as Keith needed.

Though Keith maintained his human form, Shiro slid his fingers along the base of Keith’s hairline and then up behind his right ear, scratching. At first, Keith tensed, but then he leaned into the touch. It was a conscious motion as Keith began to rub his cheek against Shiro’s shoulder and let out a deep, enjoyable purr. 

He went “full-purple” then, as Pidge called Keith’s Galra form, and spread his scent on Shiro again. It was a comfortable ritual of assurance, of reclamation, for both of them, and though Keith’s scent changed over the years, incorporating accents of Sendak’s and Thace’s scents, he still enjoyed spreading his unique aroma across Shiro and the Paladins, marking them as his pride. 

Shiro lifted his hand to trail his fingers through Keith’s hair, calming him, soothing him. “I’m here, kiddo, and I’m not going anywhere ever again.”

It was a lofty promise. Accidents happened every day, but the Galra Empire had been defeated. Zarkon was gone. Lotor was banished to a realm not even Shiro himself could escape, and Haggar retired to a small rock to live out what was left of her existence. 

They could finally relax and celebrate. They’d won, and the universe was free once more. 

One of Keith’s yellow eyes peeked up from Shiro’s shoulder. “So…what happens now?”

Shiro sighed, his thumb sliding back and forth behind Keith’s ear. “Well, they’ll always be missions. Until all the commanders and sentries of the Galra Empire are captured and brought to trial, they’ll still be battles to fight. And they’ll always be places that need Voltron’s help for diplomatic disputes and natural disasters. We were chosen to help the universe, Keith, not just defeat the Galra Empire.”

“So that means we’ll always be…away?” His ears twitched irritably for a moment. Shiro knew Keith didn’t mind living in space, but they’d just gotten back. And Lance surely wanted to spend time on Earth. They all did.

“Well, maybe not right away,” Shiro conceded, “and Coran wants to study Earth. It started here. I was born here. Hunk and Katie, too. You were brought here. Alteans landed here and eventually, their children’s children’s children had Lance. Somehow, we came together here, on Earth. Coran thinks there’s something about the planet we haven’t discovered yet.” 

“You have a point coming beyond that, don’t you?”

Keith knew him too well. “Well, Allura believes it will be easier to maintain the Voltron Alliance if we have a headquarters, some place where people can find us or at least reach out to us.” Shiro paused, enjoying Keith’s widened eyes and twitching ears that came from excitement. “Allura would like the headquarters to be here, on Earth.” 

“Really?” Keith gripped Shiro’s shoulders so tightly, Shiro had to fight not to cringe. 

“Yes. It’ll allow us to be close to home while letting Coran do…whatever Coran wants to do.”

“Home?” Keith sat up now, falling back onto his hunches on the bench. His fingers twiddled with the bottom hem of his shirt. “Shiro…Lance wants to stay here for a while. In Cuba. With his family.”

Shiro shrugged, dismissing the sharp pain that seized his heart. “Okay. That makes sense.”

“But…what about us?”

Keith’s ear begged to be scratched as they drooped, and Shiro indulged them both with tiny strokes. “I can make wormholes, Keith. So can Allura. We’ll just have to set some new ground rules; that’s all. Like you better come home every Wednesday for dinner and alternating Thanksgivings and Christmases. Allura doesn’t know our traditions, so we can still have grilled cheese and decorate the desert willow.”

Keith snorted. “Like she’s going to live in that shack for you.” 

Shiro shrugged with a smug smile. “There’s a big enough plot of land to put the castle.”

That caught Keith off guard, and Shiro wanted to laugh, would have laughed, if not for the clawed hand that landed on Keith’s fluffy mop. Keith smacked it, growling up his father.

Thace ignored him. “Are you two ready? I believe we’ve kept the McClains waiting long enough.”

Shiro had to smother his laughter at the Hawaiian shirts and pedestrian swim trunks upon the former Galra commanders and the leader of the Blade of Marmora, though Kolivan’s hood hung off the back of his neck. At least Allura appeared somewhat normal with her luscious hair pulled back in an attractive ponytail, but she also wore a plaid shirt over a tank-top with tight cut-off shorts. 

Hm. They were truly the space version of the Beverly Hillbillies. 

The music grew louder the pier, and as Shiro stood, Keith’s skin brightened and his eyes darkened until he once more took his human shape. 

“Are you sure you don’t want to go purple?” Shiro encouraged one last time. 

Keith threw him a true grin. “No. This is who I really am, Shiro.”

Not Thace’s son or Kolivan’s apprentice – but Shiro’s brother. Human. 

Shiro drew Keith close once more, murmuring against his temple, “I really don’t deserve you.”

The darkness stole Keith’s blush, but it didn’t take his earnest whisper, “What if they don’t like me?”

Shiro didn’t need to ask whom, and it hurt to hear the undeniable fear trembling in Keith’s voice. He loved Lance with all his heart, and just the thought of losing him, of Lance’s family not accepting him, was almost too much for Keith to bear. 

But he didn’t have to alone. 

“Then they’ll have to deal with me,” Shiro assured, hitting Keith’s shoulder with his own, “not to mention your purple dad and Kolivan and your great-aunt-slash-sister-in-law, and even Sendak back there.”

Sendak let out a derisive snort but didn’t protest. 

“And you keep forgetting, they’ll have to deal with Lance, who loves you more than anything in the universe, kiddo.” 

That deflated Keith’s fear quickly or at least allowed him to gather enough strength to continue. Shiro snatched his shoulders and pushed him to the front, jumbling Keith in a familiar if irritating manner, but it kept Keith occupied until they stepped onto the pier and Lance ambushed them. Keith hesitated, taking a half-step backwards, but Lance wouldn’t have it, locking his arm with Keith’s and dragging him before the onslaught of familial bliss. 

Lance began in English, beaming as he introduced his “totally hot alien boyfriend” –

“Lance!”

– before switching to Spanish and repeating. He alternated between the two Earth languages as he gestured behind Keith. “And this is Keef’s purple pack. That’s Thace, Keith’s dad who is part of a super-secret society of pirates-slash-ninjas. And that’s Kolivan, Keef’s mentor in said society. He’s super serious and – yeah, don’t ask to try on his hood. Over there – the human-looking guy – ”

“I _am_ human, Lance. “

“ – with the white lock and badass scar is Shiro. He’s Keith’s bro.” He switched to Spanish for a second, and Shiro heard a few words he understood, like “hero” and “garrison.” Shiro’s cheeks warmed, and Lance quickly switched back to English. “Shiro’s also the Black Paladin and our leader. He, y’know, looked after us in space.” 

Lance’s mother immediately came forward, latching onto Shiro’s hands. She drew him into a tight embrace of relief and gratitude, smiling a tender grin that spoke louder than any words could. Shiro understood the basic phrases, such as “thank you” and “my family.”

“The elf is Allura. She’s Keith’s, like, great-great-great aunt, and she’s married to Shiro. Don’t ask, and the large scary looking cat is our mascot, Sendak. Don’t worry. He’s really fluffy and really protective of Shiro and Keith.”

Sendak let out a snarl, but it lacked any heat and sounded more fond than exasperated.

Lance’s father shook his head but welcomed Keith into the family with a hand shake and then a longer embrace, wrapping the younger and slightly shorter man in his arms. Lance’s mother seized Keith’s cheeks and kissed them both. She muttered a few soft words, too low for Shiro to hear, but Keith’s expression was so precious and vulnerable that he committed it to memory to cherish. 

Then the touching scene shattered when Lance clasped Keith on the shoulders and encouraged, “Hey, hey, hey! Keith, go all purple and fuzzy!” 

“What!” Keith shrieked. “Lance, no!” 

“Come on! My mom wants to see it. Come on. _Comeoncomeoncomeon!_ ” Lance gave an insistent tug to Keith’s arm with each word. 

Keith couldn’t say no to Lance for long, even though his face burned with a fresh and vibrant blush. When he shifted, it was a slow, deliberate process to show Lance’s family, and then he stood before the McClains, large purple ears twitching and amber eyes glowing with fear and wonder. Keith ducked his head, nervous and exposed, when Lance’s mother reached out to ruffle the fur upon his cheek. 

She laughed when his ears involuntarily shuttered, and when she spoke to Keith in her native tongue, Keith asked without looking away, “What did she just say?”

Lance pulled him close and whispered, “She says I’m right. You’re pretty when you’re purple, too.”

Keith’s bright red chased away all the purple from his cheeks. Hearty laughter rolled through the group, dispelling all Keith’s ill-placed fears, and a festive mood swept across the pier. The party music blared again, and Lance’s uncles began to dish out the pizzas from their shack. Lance paraded Keith before every single one of his family members, much to his reserved partner’s dismay, while Hunk and Pidge tinkered away in the shack over a soda machine malfunction. 

(They might reprogramed it to send radio-like commercials about the pizza shack to spaceships passing by the planet, but Shiro couldn’t be certain of that.)

Coran, Colleen, and Sam sat at the edge of the pier with Lance’s father and aunt, nursing drinks and good-natured conversation. Coran took one sip of his beer and spat it out almost instantly, then went on a tirade about the drink’s taste and lack of uses. 

(“Nunvill is also great for the hair and complex! What is this good for?”

“…your mood? Try some more,” Lance’s aunt pressed with a laugh, and Coran listened.)

Thace traded stories with Lance’s mother, while Kolivan taught Lance’s older brother how to hold a blade correctly. Sendak ended up pinned to the ground by a pack of wild young humans, who fluffed his hair and climbed all over his large arm like it was a jungle gym. As the night wore on and the Christmas strands served as the only light on the pier, Matt wove quintessence, captivating the crowd with purple fireworks and sparkles that danced over the gathering.

Shiro watched it all with a sad smile, sitting off to the side and working his way through his second beer. Allura slid her arm about his waist and gifted him with a radiant smile and a gentle kiss. 

“You must be proud, Shiro. Look at the wonderful family you have gathered about you. I cannot think of a more loving environment in which to raise a child.”

Yes. Perhaps the paladins were not their “children,” per se, but they were so young when they found the Blue Lion and shot off into space. It was hard to believe that Hunk had been the oldest of the younger paladins, barely seventeen, and Pidge – geez. She’s been only fourteen. Shiro, himself, had only been twenty-five and entrusted with the lives of _children,_ but he’d taken his duty seriously. He’d tried to be more a leader than a commanding officer, more of a brother than a father. He wanted them to feel comfortable coming to him over anything, from safe sex talks to movie night selections, and he thought he achieved the ultimate goal. The young paladins had grown up under his, Allura’s, and Coran’s care into capable, independent, strong – and perhaps most importantly – compassionate adults and warriors. 

Shiro’s eyes drifted to Keith as he held Lance’s hand but hung off Hunk, elbow hitched upon the taller Paladin’s shoulder. He smiled – perhaps not bright and beaming – but easy and full of mirth at Pidge as she babbled animatedly with Matt. Keith was no longer the bitter, resentful child who hated the world for leaving him abandoned and alone, who sought companionship but wasn’t sure how to find it. 

And somehow, he had. _They_ had. From a simulator ride to the far reaches of space, Keith and Shiro found each other and then others, the Paladins and Allura and Coran, the Blade of Marmora and the Rebels of Pollux – even Slav, Shiro would admit. 

They found their family. 

Shiro snorted. If he’d only known it would take rocketing into space, captured by hostile aliens, and bonding with a metaphysical, robotic lion to find it – no, to keep it. That was what it took to keep Keith and all the paladins safe, and suddenly, Shiro knew the answer to Keith’s question. 

Yes, he would do it all over again if this was the result – a party on a pier with his brother, his brother’s partner, the love his life, and their families. All the torture was worth it for this one moment of absolute bliss. 

Keith caught him staring and after a quick squeeze of Lance’s hand, came to collapse next to Shiro with a sigh. “You know what I was thinking about the other day?”

“Wait. …nope, still haven’t developed telepathy.”

Keith kicked him _hard_ in the leg. “You owe me something.”

Shiro leaned back to even with the cross-armed Keith. “Yeah?” 

“Well, you’re going to spend a few weeks here, right? With Lance and his family and me. And then you and Allura are going to park the castle by the shack. Well, maybe Allura can drop us off in Houston.”

“Houston? What’s in…” Oh. _Oh._ Tears immediately stung Shiro’s eyes, and he ducked his head to hide his suddenly tender expression. “You remember that?” 

“How could you forget?” Keith snapped, incredulous. “Or is it not as exciting now that you share a metaphysical bond with a flying alien warship and can form wormholes and enter the astral plane?”

“Are you kidding?” Shiro snagged Keith by the collar and dragged him into a one-armed hug. “I have been looking forward to these lemon-filled blueberry pancakes for six years now. They better still serve them.”

“Are you sure?” Keith asked, gaze uncertain underneath that dark curtain of bangs. “Because we don’t have to if you don’t want – ”

“ _Keith._ You picked me up like you promised…” _and saved my life._ “It’s time I held up my end of the bargain.” 

Keith maintained his uncertain gaze for a long moment before his face broke into a wide, brilliant smile, one of the most radiant expressions Shiro ever saw him make. And yeah, it had all been worth it just to see _that._

*^*^*

_Three Weeks Later_

Shiro dropped the aviator sunglasses onto the bridge of his nose and glanced out the jeep’s windshield at the colorful landscape. The warmth of the Texan sun ensconced them in a reassuring embrace, reminding Shiro that they were home. The Paladins had made it back to Earth, and he and Keith were together again. It seemed like a lifetime ago they were making plans for this, and at the same time, it seemed like yesterday. 

They deserved this – a new adventure, not as dangerous but just as exciting as their missions in space. 

“You have it all mapped out?” 

From the passenger seat, Keith glanced up from his phone and nodded. “First stop is in seventy-five miles. There’s this diner with some – hey! Traitor!” 

Red, in her metaphysical form, somehow managed to fit under the jeep’s dashboard, her large paws slapping Keith’s thighs. She snapped her jaws over Keith’s phone and tore it from his grasp, much to Shiro and Black’s delight. Dropping the slobbered phone to the ground, she covered it with her haunches and refused to let Keith retrieve it. She pressed her face into Keith’s abdomen and readied for the trip, miffed that they’d chosen another form of transportation for their road trip. 

After a huff of laughter, Black settled his chin upon Shiro’s shoulder, ready to enjoy the drive to Santa Fe from his backseat den.

“Don’t worry, Keith.” Shiro ruffled Red’s fur, causing her to purr in pleasure, and then shifted the jeep into drive. “It’s not like trying to navigate a blue sun and two black holes. We’ve got this.”

Keith grunted and sat back in his chair with his arms crossed, avoiding Red’s gaze as she gnawed on the hem of his jacket. “I would have brought you a doggy bag, y’know.”

Shiro laughed and stepped on the gas, the jeep’s tires tearing through the gravel of the NASA Space Center in Houston and onto the roadway. Behind them, the Red and Black Lions followed closely behind, protective and vigilant of their precious paladins. 

*^*^*

_Year One_

Even before he heard the loud thud and subsequent curse from the gear box, Shiro felt the unusual energy that flowed in waves, sometimes lapping at his cheek and other times drowning him in its strong undercurrent. The thick, heady sensation threatened to choke him, filling the simulator’s cockpit until he could barely breathe. He strained to focus on his flight test – the first of many during his final year as a cadet at the garrison – but that exasperatedly frightened shout jerked Shiro completely alert. 

“Hey, who’s back there?” he yelled. 

When the boy’s head popped up, Shiro registered the orange, white, and gold uniform of a garrison underclassman. The twin violet irises stole Shiro’s rapt attention, thrumming a strong and vital cord in the very essence of his being. He knew those otherworldly eyes, knew this _boy_ on a visceral level, even if he couldn’t place where they’d met. Emotions swept through him, one after another in an endless stream of faith and fate. 

Protect. Cherish. Guide. Save. 

_Love._

“Hey, what are you doing back there?” Shiro demanded.

“I – I was just – I wanted to see the – ”

“It doesn’t matter,” Shiro clipped. “Get in the engineer’s seat and take care of the stabilizers.”

“I don’t want to be an engineer,” the boy snapped, loud and brash, fists balled and trembling at his thighs. “I came here to fly.”

“Don’t worry, buddy. I’m sure you’ll get your chance.” The simulator suddenly started to shake and shutter. “Right now, I need you to get in the engineer’s seat and keep this bird together.”

With a whine and huff, Keith fell into the engineer’s seat and tugged the monitor close. Shiro walked him through the systems checks, much to the boy’s displeasure, and once the ship entered smooth sailing, he allowed a cocky grin to overtake his face and opened the throttle. 

The boy yelped, clinging onto the bottom of his chair. 

“Better strap yourself in, buddy,” Shiro called over his shoulder. “I’m going to take you on the ride of your life.”

_The End_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading this series. I’m closing it out here because some elements were changed in Season 2, like Thace was proven not to be Keith's father and Shiro's power as the guardian of the sky was revealed (maybe, kinda, sorta). So I figured it’d be best to end this and move onto different VLD stories using the new canon elements. 
> 
> I still write drabbles, and I even am currently in the middle of a [Voltron: Legendary Defender 30-day drabble challenge](http://ptw30.tumblr.com/post/157122852144/30-day-challenge-masterpost-vld-drabbles). I post a new drabble daily on my [Tumblr](http://ptw30.tumblr.com), so feel free to stop by and read or drop me a line. 
> 
> I also post the similiar stories on AO3 in a collection called [Bromances in Space](http://archiveofourown.org/works/9402668/chapters/21286685), which is pretty much drabbles with Shiro and Keith as brothers with a variety of relationship and interpersonal relationships with the Paladins. So while this "universe" is closed out, I'm not done with my BOTP just yet. :) 
> 
> Thanks again for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!


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